Point target

From Glossary of Meteorology



point target

A radar target that is small compared with the pulse volume, which is the cross- sectional area of the radar beam multiplied by half the length of the radar pulse.

Typically, a point target is an object such as an aircraft, ship, or building that reflects the radar signal from relatively simple, discrete surfaces.
See coherent target;
compare distributed target.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact [email protected]. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.