Sky Wave Propagation

Explanation

Sky wave propagation : In space communication, when the radio waves from a transmitting antenna reach a receiving antenna after reflection in the lonosphere, the mode of propagation is called sky wave or ionospheric propagation.
The ionosphere is an inhomogeneous ionized gas with the electron concentration increasing with altitude. Hence, the refractive index decreases with altitude and radio waves from a ground station undergo total internal reflection towards the Earth. ltgtbrgt The two layers of the ionosphere that are important for sky wave propagation are
(1) the Kennelly-Heaviside layer or the E layer.
(2) the Appleton layer or the Flayer. The F layer is the most useful for long distance transmission.