Radio propagation antennas (monopoles) are required. Since the ground is not a perfect electrical conductor, ground waves are attenuated as they follow the Earth’s surface. Attenuation is proportional to frequency, so ground waves are the main mode of propagation at lower frequencies, in the MF, LF and VLF bands. Ground waves are used by radio broadcasting stations in the MF and LF bands, and for time signals and radio navigation systems. At even lower frequencies, in the VLF to ELF bands, an Earth-ionosphere waveguide mechanism allows even longer range transmission. These frequencies are used for secure military communications. They can also penetrate
Radio star and beam out coherent bursts of microwaves. The Sun, the nearest star to Earth, is known to emit radio waves, though it is virtually the only regular star that has been detected in the radio spectrum, because it is so close. It is not considered a radio star because it is not a strong radio source. Some studies have found that main-sequence stars may extremely rarely emit radio waves. A 2009 survey found a maximum of 112 candidate radio stars cross-matching the FIRST and NVSS surveys, but estimated that 108 ± 13 of the samples are from "contamination" from background