Podcasts about quadrantids

SpaceTime Series 28 Episode 07Dark Matter's Role in Milky Way's Stellar StreamsNew research suggests that dark matter may have influenced the formation of the GD-1 stellar stream in the Milky Way. A study in the Astrophysical Journal Letters proposes that a core-collapsing, self-interacting dark matter subhalo could explain the unusual spur and gap features observed in the stream. This finding could deepen our understanding of dark matter's properties and its influence on the universe.Sun's Triple Solar Flare EruptionThe Sun has unleashed three significant X-class solar flares in a single day, with the first and third being X1.1 flares and the second an X1.5. These powerful eruptions, detected by NOAA's Solar Ultraviolet Imager, are part of the Sun's approach to solar maximum, the peak of its 11-year solar cycle. Solar flares can disrupt Earth's communications, power grids, and pose health risks to astronauts.Quadrantids Meteor Shower SpectacleThe Earth is experiencing the Quadrantids meteor shower, offering a dazzling display of shooting stars. Originating from the near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH1, the Quadrantids are best viewed from dark locations, with peak sightings expected in the Pacific region. Sky watchers can anticipate around 50 meteors per hour, with potential fireballs enhancing the spectacle.00:00 This is space time series 28 episode 7 for broadcast on 15 January 202500:46 New research proposes a self interacting dark matter subhalo could explain GD1 features04:24 The sun unleashed three significant X class solar flares on the same day07:19 Earth is experiencing one of its most spectacular meteor showers, the Quadrantids14:31 A quarter of the world's freshwater animals are at risk of extinction16:43 Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg admits that his fact checkers are dishonest20:28 CES has wrapped up in Las Vegas with lots of interesting gadgetswww.spacetimewithstuartgary.comwww.bitesz.com

Capturing shooting stars with your doorbell cam We've had the first meteor shower of 2025 – you may have missed it but your doorbell cam may have recorded it. The Quadrantids shower has captivated both amateur and professional astronomers, some of whom are now working together to find the meteors once they land on the Earth's surface. When this occurs, there is a strong likelihood that the aptly named UK Fireball Alliance will identify them. This alliance consolidates images and videos from various sources, including doorbell cameras, dash-cams, security systems, and professional telescopes. The primary objective is to issue a comprehensive alert to scientists, indicating where they can locate the fallen meteors. Gareth met with Luke Daly, a lecturer in planetary geoscience at the University of Glasgow. He is also the treasurer of the UK Fireball Alliance and is on the show to tell us more.   EdTech Apps – are they any good? The EdTech App market is worth billions of dollars a year but many of these apps are, in fact, counterproductive and may be causing more harm than good. That's according to an Educational Technology researcher who has recently expressed her concerns in the journal Nature. Natalia Kucirkova, the Director of the International Centre for EdTech Impact and a professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway, is concerned that educational institutions, along with families, are squandering resources on apps that do not yield effective results. As she tells Gareth, better testing of these apps is needed, as is a certification process to identify those that are truly beneficial to children.   The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Angelica Mari.   More on this week's stories: UK Fireball Alliance Educational apps are worth billions. We need to make sure they work   Production Manager: Liz Tuohy Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz For new episodes, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or via this link for the PodExtra: https://somewhere-on-earth-the-global-tech-podcast-the-podextra-edition.pod.fan/ Follow us on the socials: Join our Facebook group Instagram Twitter/X Bluesky If you like Somewhere on Earth, please rate and review it on Apple Podcasts Contact us by email: hello@somewhereonearth.co Send us a voice note: via WhatsApp: +44 7486 329 484  Find a Story + Make it News = Change the World Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, we've all heard it before during winter - “If you don't dress warm, you're going to catch a cold”. We take a look at why winter makes you more vulnerable to colds. Also, what 2025 has in store for your stargazing plans. Plus, on This Day in History, we spin the wheel for the first time, as Wheel of Fortune debuts on NBC. Why winter makes you more vulnerable to colds – a public health nurse explains the science behind the season | The Conversation January stargazing: Ring in 2025 with a meteor shower, 'planet parade,' and best chance to spot Mars | Popular Science The Sky Promises Many Big Events in 2025 The first meteor shower of 2025, the Quadrantids, is here. Here's how to catch a glimpse | AP News ‘Wheel of Fortune' Turns 40, But Do You Remember the Other Versions? | TV Insider Sponsored By Acorns - Head to at acorns.com/cool or download the Acorns app to start saving and investing for your future today! Contact the show - coolstuffcommute@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv The Traitors Is a Welsh accent really more trustworthy How to drive in snow and icy weather New Orleans attack King deeply saddened by Briton Edward Pettifers death Kelvin Evans murder Christopher Cooper jailed for life Nimisha Priya Last hope for Indian nurse on death row in Yemen pardon from victims family What one picture tells us about Trumps power in Congress Trump to be sentenced in hush money case on 10 January Venus Moon duo and Quadrantids meteors stun stargazers Newspaper headlines Social care cop out and Nice Littler earner Nigel Farage distances himself from Elon Musk on Tommy Robinson

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv What one picture tells us about Trumps power in Congress Kelvin Evans murder Christopher Cooper jailed for life Nimisha Priya Last hope for Indian nurse on death row in Yemen pardon from victims family New Orleans attack King deeply saddened by Briton Edward Pettifers death Newspaper headlines Social care cop out and Nice Littler earner Venus Moon duo and Quadrantids meteors stun stargazers Nigel Farage distances himself from Elon Musk on Tommy Robinson How to drive in snow and icy weather Trump to be sentenced in hush money case on 10 January The Traitors Is a Welsh accent really more trustworthy

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Trump to be sentenced in hush money case on 10 January Nimisha Priya Last hope for Indian nurse on death row in Yemen pardon from victims family New Orleans attack King deeply saddened by Briton Edward Pettifers death Venus Moon duo and Quadrantids meteors stun stargazers Newspaper headlines Social care cop out and Nice Littler earner Kelvin Evans murder Christopher Cooper jailed for life How to drive in snow and icy weather Nigel Farage distances himself from Elon Musk on Tommy Robinson The Traitors Is a Welsh accent really more trustworthy What one picture tells us about Trumps power in Congress

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Nigel Farage distances himself from Elon Musk on Tommy Robinson How to drive in snow and icy weather The Traitors Is a Welsh accent really more trustworthy Nimisha Priya Last hope for Indian nurse on death row in Yemen pardon from victims family New Orleans attack King deeply saddened by Briton Edward Pettifers death Kelvin Evans murder Christopher Cooper jailed for life Trump to be sentenced in hush money case on 10 January Newspaper headlines Social care cop out and Nice Littler earner What one picture tells us about Trumps power in Congress Venus Moon duo and Quadrantids meteors stun stargazers

GB2RS News Sunday the 5th of January The news headlines: The GB2RS News service is the subject of tomorrow's Tonight@8 webinar The RSGB 2025 election process has begun Don't forget to report YOTA activity!  The news team and all the staff at RSGB HQ would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a very happy New Year. We would like to remind everyone that we always welcome your news, by email, to radcom@rsgb.org.uk and the deadline is 10 am sharp on Thursday mornings. And now, on with the news. The first RSGB Tonight@8 webinar of 2025 will be live tomorrow, Monday the 6th of January. During the presentation, you will get a behind-the-scenes insight into the RSGB's GB2RS News service which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The team of presenters include GB2RS News Manager, Steve Richards, G4HPE and also RadCom Managing Editor Ed O'Neill, M0TZX who will explain how a team of people produces and shares the weekly GB2RS news script. You'll also hear from the Society's Operating Awards Manager Lindsay Pennell, GI3KME who has details about a series of special GB2RS awards for you to chase. Pete Sobye, G0PNM will give you a newsreader's perspective of the weekly broadcast. Find out more about this fascinating discussion and the presenters by going to rsgb.org/webinars Watch the presentation live on the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat.  What are your goals for 2025? Could you spare some time and share your expertise to make a difference within the amateur radio community? The RSGB 2025 elections process has begun, and nominations are open for a range of volunteer roles. The RSGB's President John McCullagh, GI4BWM will reach the end of his second year as President at the AGM and so will stand down. There are also two Elected Board Director vacancies. The Board is looking for people with specific skills to fill these roles. The current President is one of the few at the Board level with extensive experience in spectrum matters and negotiating with the authorities – so that skills gap needs to be filled. Outreach has been an important focus over the last year for the Society and it would like to support the current activities and expand on them. These developments will include encouraging practical skills amongst the amateur radio community and also building links with other organisations. Building those relationships will require someone with drive and determination but also tact and diplomacy. There are eight further posts available for RSGB Regional Representatives, ranging from Region 1 in Scotland to Region 11 in the southwest. For more details about the roles as well as application forms and candidate packs, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/election  December 2024 saw a wide range of individuals, clubs, schools and universities encouraging youngsters to get on the air and try amateur radio as part of YOTA Month 2024. The RSGB National Radio Centre also hosted the callsign over several evenings and weekends. If you were involved with Youngsters on the Air Month and would like your activity to be included in the RSGB's special RadCom feature, remember that you need to email your photos and a short report to comms@rsgb.org.uk by this Tuesday, the 7th of January.  Do you like making things? Or are you interested in creating software for use in amateur radio? Have you thought about entering the RSGB's Construction Competition? This annual competition is judged online to allow RSGB members from the UK and across the world to participate and demonstrate their creativity. In line with the Society's strategic priority of growth, there will be a new Outreach category this year in which members are encouraged to submit a project that can be reproduced in a school or public environment. The other five categories are beginners, construction excellence, innovation, software and antennas. The winner of each section will receive a cash prize, with a bonus for the overall winner. The deadline for entries is the 1st of March 2025. Find out more by going to rsgb.org/construction-competition    And now for details of rallies and events The Lincoln Shortwave Club Winter Radio Rally is taking place on the 26th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road in Market Rasen. The doors open at 10 am and admission is £3. Hot refreshments and ample free car parking will be available. The cost of a table is £10. To book, please contact Steve Burke, M5ZZZ on 07777 699 069 or email m5zzz@outlook.com The Red Rose Winter Rally is due to take place on the 23rd of February from 10 am at Mather Hall, Mather Lane, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 2PJ. Please note that the maximum number of five-foot tables per trader has had to be reduced from six to five. On a brighter note, the price remains as it has been for several years at £10 per table. For more information visit wmrc.co.uk On the 1st of March, The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society Annual Rally will be held at Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, BT26 6AR. The doors open at 10.30 am. For more details visit lvars.uk The Exeter Radio Rally will take place on the 2nd of March at The Kenn Centre, EX6 7UE from 10 am. Traders and catering will be available on-site. For more information contact Pete, G3ZVI by phone at 07714 198 374, or by email to g3zvi@yahoo.co.uk  Now the Special Event news Today, the 5th, is the last chance to work special callsign OZ400POST. The station is active to celebrate the anniversary of Denmark's postal service which was originally established on Christmas Eve in 1624. Visit QRZ.com to read about awards that are available for working the station. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Portishead Radio, callsign GKA, receiving site at Highbridge, Somerset, special callsign GB1GKA will be operated until the 31st of January. The operation will be mainly focussed on CW, but some SSB activity is planned. The station will be active on all bands from 40 to 10m.  British Railways Amateur Radio Society is running a special event station GB0LMR during 2025 to celebrate 200 years of train travel. The operation will be mainly focussed on the 40 and 10m bands. QSL via the Bureau. More information about the station is available at QRZ.com In celebration of the 70th anniversary of the GB2RS News service, a special callsign GB70RS has been on the air since the 1st of January. Listen out for operators on all modes and all bands. QSL via the Bureau, eQSL or Logbook of the World. For more information, please visit the GB70RS page at QRZ.com Now the DX news Brian, GW4DVB is operating from St Kitts as V4/G4DVB until tomorrow, the 6th of January. The station is active using multiple modes on the 160 to 6m bands. QSL directly to Brian. More information is available at QRZ.com Ralf, DB4REB is active as CN2REB from Morocco until the 30th of January. He is operating using CW, FT8 and SSB on various bands. QSL via eQSL, or directly to Ralf's home call. More information is available at QRZ.com Now the contest news The ARRL RTTY Roundup started at 1800UTC on Saturday the 4th and ends at 2359UTC today, Sunday the 5th of January. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. USA stations also send their state and Canadian stations send their province. Tomorrow, the 6th, the IRTS 80m Daytime Counties Contest runs from 1700 to 1800UTC. Using SSB and CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. EI and GI stations also send their county. On Tuesday the 7th, the RSGB 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 7th, the RSGB 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 8th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 8th, the RSGB 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 9th, the RSGB 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 11th, the Worked All Britain 1.8MHz Phone Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. Using SSB on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. On Sunday the 12th, the RSGB Affiliated Societies 80 and 40m Data modes Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY on the 80 and 40m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday the 2nd of January 2025. We started the new year with a bang, or more precisely a Kp index of 8 and widespread visible aurora. This was caused by a partial halo coronal mass ejection, associated with an eruption in the Sun's southeast quadrant on the 29th of December. The strong G3 to severe G4 geomagnetic storm peaked at about 1800UTC on the 1st of January as the solar wind speed moved past Earth at just above 500 kilometres per second. It then subsided as the Bz component settled into a north-pointing position. HF propagation suffered as a result with the maximum usable frequency down for the rest of the evening. By the morning of the 2nd of January, things had improved and maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path were back above 28MHz. The solar flux index remained above 200, which no doubt helped, but we are in rocky times from a space weather point of view. A large coronal hole became Earth-facing on Friday the 3rd of January which will no doubt cause some geomagnetic disruption today, the 5th, as the Kp index rises. NOAA predicts the solar flux index may decline this week, possibly ending in the 160s to 170s. Geomagnetic conditions may also be in for a rough ride around the 10th and 11th when the Kp index is forecast to reach 4. From a radio point of view, January is a peak time for low-band DXing. The nights are long and dark so make the most of the 160 and 80m bands. You may also get DX during the late afternoon on the 40m band. During the daytime keep an eye on the 10m band, which may throw up the odd, interesting DX station while the solar flux index remains high.  And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO. To start the year the main feature is low pressure over the country but, in the depths of winter, it's good to remember that snow and rain both provide scattering opportunities for the GHz bands. There is a glimmer of tropo hope for the end of the coming week, around the 11th and 12th, as high pressure builds over northern Britain. This will be a cold-air high which tends not to be the best for tropo, but it's worth a look nonetheless. The solar conditions provided an aurora on New Year's Day with a brief index of 8 during the afternoon. With other disturbances possible, it is worth keeping up to date with solar conditions and prospects for geomagnetic storms on spaceweather.com  This is one propagation mode where CW is so much easier to copy under the difficult conditions of aurora. Meteor scatter propagation is driven by the Quadrantids in the first week of January. It peaks on the 4th but spans the period up to the 12th. This is a productive shower with an hourly rate of 120. Since it's the last major excitement until the late April Lyrids, make the most of it before we're reduced to chasing random meteor activity during the rest of winter. We have previously mentioned the chance of out-of-season Sporadic-E propagation in mid-winter and we still have the next week to keep alert, especially in view of the Quadrantids adding fuel into the E region. The ionised trails of the meteors provide long-lived metallic ions, which is the material that gets focussed into Sporadic-E if we are lucky. The Moon starts the weekend with a negative but rising declination, going positive today, the 5th, so Moon windows continue to lengthen. Path losses are low with perigee on Wednesday. 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Two hundred years ago tonight, an Italian astronomer saw something new. He described it this way: “The atmosphere was traversed by a multitude of the luminous bodies known by the name of falling stars.” In other words, he saw a brand-new meteor shower. The shower is still with us. And it’ll be at its best tomorrow night. It’s known as the Quadrantid shower. Its meteors appear to rain into the atmosphere from the extinct constellation Quadrans Muralis. It represented an instrument that was used to plot the positions of the stars. Today, that part of the sky is in Boštes, the herdsman. The shower takes place as Earth passes through a trail of debris from an asteroid or dead comet. Bits of rock and dust slam into our atmosphere. They quickly vaporize, forming the streaks of light known as meteors. The Quadrantid shower includes a lot of bigger bits of debris, which form especially bright meteors. The Quadrantids have the shortest peak of any major meteor shower – only a few hours. During that peak, you might see up to a hundred meteors per hour. Unfortunately for those of us in the United States, the peak is during the daylight hours on Saturday. So the best view should come late tomorrow night. To see the shower, find a safe skywatching site away from city lights. The meteors can zip across any part of the sky. So bundle up and scan the skies – for a meteor shower that’s marking its bicentennial. Script by Damond Benningfield

Venus is approaching greatest elongation and heading toward Saturn. Jupiter and Mars are good sights all night. Mercury's still a morning object. And this week is a good time to look for Quadrantid meteor showers.

GB2RS News Sunday the 14th of January 2024 The news headlines: RSGB releases new video about changes to amateur radio licensing WRTC 2026 team to appear in an RSGB Tonight@8 webinar Paul Athersmith, M0PLA achieves Mountain Goat award   Following Ofcom's consultation on the amateur radio licence last year, it released a statement in December 2023. The statement outlined its decision to update the amateur radio licensing framework to ensure the policies and licences meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's radio amateurs while streamlining the licensing process. It also published a General Notice, giving notice of its proposal to vary all amateur radio licences. The RSGB has just released a video in which RSGB General Manager Steve Thomas, M1ACB chats to RSGB Spectrum Forum Chair Murray Niman, G6JYB. Murray recaps some of the headline results of the Ofcom consultation, including where changes have occurred to Ofcom's proposals. They also talk about what this could mean for radio amateurs in the future. This is a great example of how the RSGB is working not only to defend the spectrum but also to support all radio amateurs to understand and make use of the privileges they enjoy through their amateur radio licence. You can watch this video on the RSGB's YouTube channel or via the Society's licence review updates page at rsgb.org/licencereview On Monday the 15th of January, join the RSGB's first Tonight@8 live webinar of 2024. Led by Chairman and Project Manager Mark Haynes, M0DXR, the WRTC 2026 team will be presenting and answering questions live on the RSGB YouTube channel and BATC channel. The presentation will explain what WRTC is about and provide an overview of what the UK's Organising Committee is planning for the 2026 event. Find out how you can be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event, either as a spectator, volunteer, competitor or referee. Following Mark's presentation at the RSGB 2023 Convention, this Tonight@8 webinar will bring you up to date with everything that has been happening since. To find out more go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/webinars Paul Athersmith, M0PLA of Telford, Shropshire, has achieved the coveted Mountain Goat award for gaining 1,000 activator points in the Summits on the Air scheme. Paul completed his mission on the summit of Pole Bank, on the Long Mynd in Shropshire. The feat took Paul just over seven years, following his debut activation in December 2016. For more information about SOTA, visit sota.org.uk  The deadline for nominations in the RSGB elections is Wednesday the 31st of January. You still have time to stand for the one Elected Board Director vacancy or for one of the eight Regional Representative vacancies. Do you want to support your local radio amateurs? Are you passionate about seeing the amateur radio community grow and attract new people of all ages? Do you understand the RSGB's importance in helping to protect the spectrum and the licence privileges all radio amateurs enjoy? If so, this is the time to step forward! If you don't feel you can volunteer at this time, do you know someone who would be great in one of these roles? Go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/election to find out how to get involved before the nomination period closes. RSGB National Radio Centre Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB is a name many will know from visits to the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park. Others will know him from contacts they may have made with him on the radio over the many years that Martyn has been an amateur radio licensee. You can learn more about Martyn, and his love for the hobby, in "The Face Behind the Call" in January's Practical Wireless magazine. Journalist Roger Dowling, G3NKH discovers how Martyn came into the hobby and takes a look at his extensive shack. They also talk about volunteering at the RSGB National Radio Centre and the impressive equipment that makes up the GB3RS station. Read more at rsgb.org/nrc The deadline for submissions to the RSGB Construction Competition is the 1st of March 2024. To enable members across the country, and even the world, to take part, entries will again be judged over the internet rather than in person. This year two new categories have been introduced so there are six categories you can enter: Antennas; Beginners; Most creative and/or elegant PCB Design; Construction Excellence; Innovation; and Software and Systems. Special recognition will be given to entries submitted by radio amateurs under the age of 24, and to those who have just gained their Foundation licence. A cash prize will be awarded to the winner of each section, with a bonus for the overall winner, who will also be given the Pat Hawker G3VA Award. You can watch an RSGB Tonight@8 presentation featuring winners from previous years, and find out how to enter this year, on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/construction-competition And now for details of rallies and events The Lincoln Short Wave Club Winter Radio Rally will take place on Sunday the 28th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road, Market Rasen, LN8 3HT. The doors will be open from 9 am and admission is £2. Ample free car parking and hot refreshments will be available. The tables cost £10 each. At 2 pm, after the Rally, there will be a used equipment auction. Items for the auction will be booked from 1 pm. Contact Steve, M5ZZZ for tables and details via m5zzz@outlook.com or 07777 699 069. The Canvey Rally will be held on Sunday the 4th of February at Cornelius Vermuyden School, Dinant Avenue, Canvey, Essex, SS8 9QS. The Rally is expected to be the usual hive of activity with plenty of traders on site. For more information contact Richard Stanley at 07725 551 263 or email g7oed@icloud.com  The MIDCARS Radioactive Rally will be held on Sunday the 11th of February at Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DG. The doors open at 10 am and admission is £5. There will be a wide variety of trader stalls covering every aspect of amateur radio. Raffles will be held throughout the Rally. Refreshments and snacks will be available in the hall and parking is immediately adjacent to the venue.   Now the Special Event News The World Wide Award 2024 has been running since the 1st of January and will finish on the 31st of January. The event is being held in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Guglielmo Marconi. The World Wide Award combines CW, SSB and digital mode activity from special event stations around the world. Real-time award tracking for chasers is available at hamaward.cloud/wwa VI100MB is the special callsign for the Manly-Warringah Radio Society, VK2MB to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its formation. The station will be active until the 25th of February 2024. QSL via Logbook of the World and eQSL.   Now the DX news Pierre-Jean, F4GPK will be active as TO2FY from French Guiana until the 16th of January. He will operate SSB only from the facilities at the local radio club, FY5KE. QSL via eQSL, or direct to his home call. He does not use Logbook of the World or Club Log. Yannick, F6FYD will be active as CN2YD from Marrakech, Morocco until the 15th of March 2024. He plans to operate as CN2YD/P from IOTA group AF-065 sometime during his stay. QSL via F6FYD. Now the contest news Today, the 14th, the RSGB Affiliated Societies 80 and 40m Data modes Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 16th, the 1.3GHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 23cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday the 18th, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 20th, the Affiliated Societies 80 and 40m SSB Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using SSB only on the 80 and 40m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon began on Friday the 1st of December 2023. The contest will run until the 31st of January 2024. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator.  Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 11th of January 2024 We couldn't have asked for better solar conditions last week. We had a low Kp index that never got any higher than 2.67, and a solar flux index that started the week at 167 and then rose to 186 by Wednesday. So, at first glance, this looks like ideal conditions for HF. However, we are in the middle of winter and therefore the ionosphere is not at its best. The low bands are also being affected by the higher solar flux and, on the whole, the 14MHz band and above are closing as the night draws in. Daytime critical frequencies remain around 9 to 10MHz, so the 40m band should remain useful for inter-UK work. Nighttime critical frequencies are currently falling to 3.5 to 4.5MHz, which means the 40m band is only open to long skip, if at all.   The critical frequency is the highest that still returns a signal from the ionosphere if sent straight up, and is a good guide as to which bands are open to near vertical incidence skywave or NVIS signals around the UK. On the brighter side, 14MHz has been showing signs of DX. The VK6RBP beacon has been heard on 14.100MHz in the afternoon via the short path and 28.200MHz in the morning via the long path. The 12m band has shown international beacons RR90 in Siberia, OH2B in Finland, LU4AA in Argentina and YV5B in Venezuela, on 24.930MHz in the morning. While the 10m band also highlighted YV5B in Venezuela during mid-morning. Not a massive catch, but better than we were getting two years ago! For the coming week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index may fall into the range of 150 to 165. Geomagnetic conditions are predicted to remain settled with a maximum Kp index of 2. As always, this could easily change if we have a coronal mass ejection, so keep an eye on solarham.net for near real-time solar conditions.   And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO The area of high pressure has been working well for some parts of the country, with Tropo conditions lasting into the start of this weekend, but as a cold front moves South on Saturday the 13th, all will change as the high becomes displaced to the Atlantic. Therefore, there is no significant Tropo for the coming week, but there may be some rain scatter from showers, especially around the coasts. We seem to have passed the period of unusual winter Sporadic-E propagation without much evidence of activity so that just leaves meteor scatter. After the Quadrantids last week, we entered a period of low meteor shower activity, leaving just random meteors until the next major shower, the Lyrids in April. For random meteor scatter, the pre-dawn period works best. The solar conditions can still be instrumental in producing extra propagation treats with chance aurora. Probably the best operating policy is to monitor the geomagnetic Kp-index with high values greater than 6 being a good sign for VHF. For EME operators, this week starts with very low Moon declination, low peak Moon elevation and short Moon windows, but declination is rising and goes positive again on Tuesday. Path losses are still low and reached minimum at perigee on Saturday the 13th. 144MHz sky noise is low for all of the coming week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.  

GB2RS News Sunday the 7th of January 2024 The news headlines: RSGB Regional Team vacancies RSGB volunteer interviewed by the BBC RSGB National Radio Centre seeks to expand its team of volunteers   The news team and all the staff at RSGB HQ would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a very happy New Year. We would like to remind everyone that we always welcome your news, by email, to radcom@rsgb.org.uk and the deadline is 10 am sharp on Thursday mornings. The GB2RS script is usually uploaded to the RSGB website by 4.30 pm each Friday afternoon. Are you interested in supporting your local radio amateurs and promoting amateur radio where you live? The RSGB Regional Team has eight Regional Representative vacancies across the UK where you could make a difference. Last year, Regional Reps got involved in a variety of activities including British Science Week and YOTA Month to help spread the word about amateur radio in their regions. If you have the passion to do this, go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/election to find out how to apply. The deadline for applications is the 31st of January. It was great to hear RSGB volunteer Peter Marcham, G3YXZ on BBC Radio Oxford on New Year's Day. Peter volunteers at the RSGB National Radio Centre, as well as being a tour guide at Bletchley Park. He spoke to radio presenter Sophie Law about his volunteering after sending the words "Bletchley Park Guide" to a three-word, text-in feature on why listeners were up early on New Year's Day. Search for Sophie Law on BBC Sounds, choose the New Year's Day programme and listen from 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds. There is so much happening at the RSGB National Radio Centre that it needs to expand its team of volunteers! If you can volunteer on a Friday or Saturday, you will be particularly welcome. The NRC has a fabulous set-up, and full training on using the GB3RS radio station will be given. You should enjoy meeting people and be able to volunteer for one or two days per month as part of a friendly and dedicated team. NRC volunteers also enjoy numerous benefits associated with volunteering at Bletchley Park. For more information, please email NRC Coordinator Martyn Baker, G0GMB via nrc.support@rsgb.org.uk We have received the sad news that both Mick Senior, G4EFO and Martyn Vincent, G3UKV have become Silent Keys recently. Mick was a former Regional Representative for Region 10, and the keeper of a number of local repeaters. Martyn was the District Representative for Shropshire, North Worcestershire and West Birmingham. Previously, he volunteered for the RSGB as the Regional Representative for Region 5 and as a member of the Nominations Committee. He was also a very well-respected member of the microwave and contesting communities. Our thoughts are with their families at this difficult time. This year marks 150 years since the birth of Guglielmo Marconi in 1874. The Cornish Radio Amateur Club will be organising International Marconi Day this year on the 27th of April. For more information and updates, visit the GB4IMD Facebook page. The RSGB's RadCom team is looking for authors to contribute to the magazine. Previously unpublished features and articles are always welcome for consideration, and authors are paid for any content that is used. To contact the RadCom team please email radcom@rsgb.org.uk And now for details of rallies and events The Lincoln Short Wave Club Winter Radio Rally will take place on Sunday the 28th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road, Market Rasen, LN8 3HT. The doors will be open from 9 am and admission is £2. Ample free car parking and hot refreshments will be available. Tables cost £10 each. At 2 pm, after the Rally, there will be a used equipment auction. Items for the auction will be booked in from 1 pm. Contact Steve, M5ZZZ for tables and details via m5zzz@outlook.com or 07777 699 069. The Canvey Rally will be held on Sunday the 4th of February at Cornelius Vermuyden School, Dinant Avenue, Canvey, Essex, SS8 9QS. The Rally is expected to be the usual hive of activity with plenty of traders on site. For more information contact Richard Stanley on 07725 551 263 or email g7oed@icloud.com  The MIDCARS Radioactive Rally will be held on Sunday the 11th of February at Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DG. The doors open at 10 am and admission is £5. There will be a wide variety of trader stalls covering every aspect of amateur radio. Raffles will be held throughout the Rally. Refreshments and snacks will be available in the hall and parking is immediately adjacent to the venue. Now the Special Event News Today, the 7th is the last chance to work special callsign EH5XMAS. The station is operated by members of Radio Club Lliria, EA5RCL in celebration of Christmas and the New Year. QSL via the bureau to EA5RCL, Logbook of the World and eQSL. On the 14th of January 2024, Her Majesty Queen Margrethe the Second will abdicate and leave the throne to her son who will become His Majesty King Frederik the Tenth, when he is sworn in as the new King of Denmark. For this reason, amateur radio associations FRA and EDR will activate Special Event Stations within The Kingdom of Denmark including Greenland and the Faroe Islands. OZ24QUEEN will be active from 0000UTC on the 12th of January until 2359UTC on the 14th of January. OZ24KING will be active from 0000UTC on the 14th of January until 2359UTC on the 16th of January. These callsigns, and others, will be active on many amateur radio bands using CW, SSB, RTTY and several digital modes. All amateur bands and all modes may be used. For more information see QRZ.com The Radio Club of Haïti is on the air until the 31st of January with special callsign HH220Y. The station is active to celebrate Haïti's 220th anniversary of independence. Operators are active on the 160 to 10m bands using CW, FT8 and SSB. QSL via N2OO. Now the DX news Eric, F5LCX will be active as V5/F5LCX from Namibia until the 11th of January. He plans to operate with both mobile and fixed stations for a few hours on a daily basis – probably during the evening hours. QSL via Logbook of the World. Brad, VK2BY will be active again as HS0ZNR from the Nam Yuen district in northeastern Thailand until the 14th of January. He will be QRV on the 160 to 10m bands. QSL directly to VK2BY and Logbook of the World. Now the contest news The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon began on Friday the 1st of December 2023. The contest will run until the 31st of January 2024. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator. The ARRL RTTY Roundup ends its two-day run today, Sunday the 7th of January, at 2359UTC. Using the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. American stations also send their state. Canadian stations send their province. On Tuesday the 9th, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 9th, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 10th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also on Wednesday the 10th, the 432MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. On Thursday the 11th, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Sunday the 14th, the RSGB Affiliated Societies 80 and 40m Datamodes Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 4th of January 2024 Welcome to the first HF propagation report of 2024 – it looks like it will be business as usual! A massive X5-class solar flare occurred on the 31st of December. Luckily, this happened at 2155UTC so didn't affect the ionosphere over the UK. But it did launch a large coronal mass ejection, which was forecast to possibly hit the Earth on the 2nd of January. It looks like it largely missed us, although low-energy proton levels streaming past Earth continued to rise and were at the minor S1 radiation storm threshold on Wednesday the 3rd. Had active region 3536 been directly facing Earth when the flare was observed, a stronger proton event and geomagnetic storm would have been very likely. Only minor HF signal degradation through the polar zones should be expected because of the minor S1 storm. So, it looks like we dodged the bullet again, but this is a warning that there could be more to come. Otherwise, the solar flux index declined to the 140s over the Christmas period, although it looks like it may increase over the coming week. NOAA predicts it could be in the range of 150 to 160 next week, with a maximum Kp index of 3 on Monday the 8th, or Tuesday the 9th. However, this could soon change if we have another solar flare and subsequent coronal mass ejection, which could see the Kp index rise two days later. So, make the most of HF when the Kp index is low! Otherwise, the winter period is when the low bands, from 160 to 40m, come into their own. While solar maximum is not the best time for low-band propagation, there will still be plenty of DX to be worked. Generally speaking, winter is a good time for east-west paths on HF too. Taking a closer look at 40 metres, the band should open for DX in an easterly direction during the late afternoon and towards the south at sunset. Paths during the afternoon may also include West Coast USA in mid-winter. Relatively local contacts should be possible during the day, as the critical frequency remains above 7MHz during daylight. And now the VHF and up propagation news from G3YLA and G4BAO A new year brings a change of weather type and, after some residual rainfall events at the tail end of the previous week, we should be seeing a marked improvement in the weather as high-pressure returns fairly generally across the country by this first weekend of January, ending today, the 7th. This will remain near, or very close by, for much of the coming week and into the following weekend. It is good news for Tropo, initially over the North Sea towards southern Scandinavia and the Baltic region, but will probably change to favour the western side of Britain in the second half of the week. This is nice timing to coincide with the 70cm band RSGB contests during the week on Tuesday the 9th and Wednesday the 10th of January. Up until the middle of the month, we should be alert to rare mid-winter sporadic-E propagation. With a very contorted jet stream pattern during the whole period, the chances are better than average. This is another piece of good timing for the 50MHz UK Activity Contest on Thursday the 11th. We were going through the Quadrantids meteor shower as this report was being written, so this may provide a little boost to meteor scatter into some of the coming week. Rain scatter will be a rapidly diminishing option during the period as high pressure builds next week. The solar conditions continue to produce elevated Kp index events. So, again, check for auroral openings although, generally, aurora is usually better towards the Spring. For EME, this week we see a negative Moon declination, falling to a minimum by Wednesday. So, Moon windows will be short and peak Moon elevation will be low. Path losses are also low, but we are still over a week away from perigee, the closest approach of the Moon to the Earth. 144MHz sky noise increases all week culminating in the Sun and Moon being close in the sky on the 11th. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

The Quadrantid meteor shower should be at its best tonight. Unfortunately, “best” doesn't mean great. That's because the last-quarter Moon gets in the way. It's in view during the expected peak hours, so its glare will wipe out all but the brightest meteors. The shower is named for an extinct constellation – the wall quadrant - an instrument that astronomers used for centuries to track the positions of stars. That region of the sky is in Boötes the herdsman, near the handle of the Big Dipper. The Quadrantids appear to come from a trail of dust left by an asteroid or dead comet. As it orbits the Sun, it sheds bits of rock and dirt. Today, the parent body's orbit doesn't cross Earth's orbit. But it must have in the distant past. That left a trail of debris for Earth to pass through. As we cross the trail, some of the debris hits the atmosphere at about 90,000 miles per hour. The particles vaporize, forming the streaks of light known as meteors or shooting stars. The Quadrantids include quite a few “fireballs” – especially bright meteors that can explode. They're formed by larger bits of debris – the size of pebbles. They can be bright enough to see through the Moon's glare. And a few fireballs are usually seen for a few nights after the shower's peak. Look for the meteors in the wee hours of the morning. You might see up to a few dozen of them – blazing bits of rock and dust high in the sky.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The first big snowstorm of the year hits this weekend. Cases of COVID, the flu and RSV are rising around the country. The Quadrantids meteor shower lights up the sky overnight. 5 minutes of news that will keep you in The Loop.

Early risers could catch a show tomorrow morning. WBZ's Madison Rogers explains.

The Quadrantids meteor shower lights up the night sky, while Comet 144P Kushida passes by on the latest episode of our weekly stargazing podcast.  Meteor shower observing tips: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/top-tips-observing-perseid-meteor-shower Transcription: www.skyatnightmagazine.com/podcasts/star-diary-1-jan-2024 Learn all about astrophotography in our on-demand Masterclass, all about deep-sky imaging: https://bit.ly/SaNMCDSPod Subscribe to BBC Sky at Night Magazine for all the best stargazing tips: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It has been a hot summer and there's a good chance you might be taking a trip to the beach, whether that's the ocean, one of the Great Lakes, or a smaller body of water. So we've brought in ocean and coastal safety expert Bruckner Chase, who talks about how to stay safe while swimming in waves and water temperatures where hypothermia could become a concern — and it's not as cold as you might think. Chase works with lifeguards, government agencies, and organizations from all across the globe. He is the host of NOAA's Wave Safe video series and has been featured on the Weather Channel many times. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-272-7099 and leave a message. You might hear your question and get an answer on a future episode! You can also email questions or comments to podcasts@lee.net. About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Adobe Premiere and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Welcome, everybody to the Across the Sky podcast, our Lee Enterprises National Weather Podcast. I'm meteorologist Joe Martucci based at the Jersey Shore here. Summer, of course, in full swing, although fall is creeping around the corner. But we're talking about wave safety. We have Bruckner Chase. He is a coastal and ocean safety expert. I know him personally. He is fantastic. AC really loves his craft. But let me ask you guys, Sean and Matt, have you guys been to beaches here? You know, I have not been to the beach this year. I think I've told you all I'm saving my pennies and going to Italy in September. So I have not done the beach this year. But nonetheless, I do love the beach. I love the Outer Banks in North Carolina. And I really liked what Bruckner had to say about the differences between some of the hazards on the East Coast versus the West Coast, not having been really spent a lot of time at the West Coast beaches. It's nice to see this this broader, broader scope that he was able to do to bring us in on. And I have not made a beach trip either this summer. Of course, I am in Chicago now. We do have beaches in Chicago. There does lake beaches. And if you've never been on the Great Lakes, never been to Chicago, when you are standing on Lake Michigan, you think you're at the ocean or somebody just dropped you down, Maybe like I'm at the ocean, right on it. No, the lake is just that big. It is the ocean. You get wave action on it. So I have been to a Chicago Lake Beach, but not an ocean beach this summer. I've always been a little bit nervous. I got to be honest about going to the beach. And I feel like oftentimes I think, well, if I just want to swim, I'm just going to get in a pool because there is the uncertainty about the ocean course. There's the everything that gets overblown about sharks, and I'm not worried about that. But there is the unknown about, you know, what is in the water. Are there rip currents out there? What are other things? You know, this is this is the wild. You're not in a controlled situation. You're exposed to the elements and everything that's out in the ocean. So talking about beach safety and the hazards at the beach again most of time is going to be fine. But it is always in the back of your mind, like, I just like one more thing to be concerned about. So I think that's why it was just great to bring him on. A guy, talk about all the different things you do need to keep him out. You can definitely have a great time at the beach, but things to keep in mind to make sure you stay safe. Absolutely. And without further ado, we'll jump into it. Let's talk to Mr. Chase about ocean and water safety. And now we welcome on Bruckner Chase. He is an ocean and coastal safety expert who works with lifeguards, government agencies and organizations from all across the globe. He is the host of NOAA's Wave Safe Video series. He's been featured on the Weather Channel many times. That's how we first got to knowing each other a little bit here. He's also an ocean adventure athlete who has weight for this, swam 25 miles across Monterey Bay, across Lake Tahoe for 22 miles. And maybe the most impressive part has the world record for swimming without a wetsuit in Alaska. Bruckner is also a chief in an American Samoa village. He's from Memphis, Tennessee, and lives in my home state, the great Garden State of New Jersey. Bruckner, thanks for being on the Across the Sky podcast. We appreciate it. It is great to be here. And I would suggest taking a boat across Monterey Bay is probably far easier if you check the weather first than swimming across it. I could imagine. And I do want to get into some of those adventures that you have taken, but I just want to say, you know, I'm glad just personally what we've done over the past couple of weeks with you being so close to being along the Jersey Shore and promoting wave safety here. My first question for you is, you know, I know you're not a meteorologist, but what interest do you have and weather and how did that start? You know, I've got a lot of interest in weather right now and really involved with the American Meteorological Society as well. I've spoken at their last two conferences for broadcasters and communicators. And I think one of the things when I began originally my career with NOAA's started working with Natural Sanctuaries, which oversees the country's marine protected areas, when over the last several years I've been working with National Weather Service on coastal safety and the near-shore environment, as all of you know, is so impacted by weather, whether it's wind gradient portraits and waves and small craft advisories. If you're going to be in on or near the water or on the shore, the weather is really going to impact your experience there. It's going to make it a great day. It's going to make it a safe, Danny, or it can make it a dangerous day. And you need to be aware of all those changing conditions are going to impact where you are and what you're planning on doing. So tell us about the The Waves Safe series that you've been doing. If you're listening through one of our newsroom websites, you can see Bruckner's videos on there. We have them up. But what is waves safe? And tell me about the process of making it because you are talking about the whole country with this, but you're making it a little regionalized, which I think is makes you different here. When I came in with National Weather Service, you know, we had released The Ripcord Survival Guide, which focused on one specific beach hazard, which was rip currents. And we recognized, though, that rip currents were not prevalent in all of the shorelines around the U.S. in U.S. territories. And we also realized that there were a lot of other households that impacted people at the shore, not necessarily fatal impacts, but non-fatal life changing impacts as well. So National Weather Service and I, we got together saying we need to kind of expand the narrative about what people need to look for on the shore. So Wave Safe was meant to take kind of a social science approach added to the oceanographic meteorological approach of what is the science of the shore. And we wanted to take a demographic and geographic specific look at hazards. So I was charged with writing the series and then became the host of the actual video content and had the opportunity to speak to weather forecasting off to those within National Weather Service all over the country. We knew we wanted to target five main areas the East Coast, the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Hawaii, in in American Samoa. And we wanted to look at the hazards that those forecasting meteorologists needed to communicate to that group specifically in, say, the Pacific Northwest. So here we'll talk a lot about, you know, hurricanes and how they impact the coastal environment. But you sit at Northwest, you had log rolled, you had sneaker waves, you had cold water immersion, you had pocket beaches that were, you know, could become more dangerous as tides changed significantly. So the Wave Safe series was we spent two or three years really looking at what are the hazards in specific areas, how do we communicate those not just so that people would watch the videos, but so how could we convey actions in awareness that would actually help protect individuals and communities? Because it wasn't just about impressions, it was about changing behavior to have a positive impact on fatal and nonfatal incidences out the shore. Yeah. Rutger I think that's real interesting how your really dive in and looking at differences and really across the planet, but just looking at the U.S. as well, because I think it's oftentimes does get oversimplified. And you just talk about beach safety in general, but there actually are regional differences. And I'm curious about that because you talked about the threat of rip currents. Are there certain areas that are more prone to rip currents and where we see more rip currents in other locations? Yes, as you guys know, rip currents are very determined. And now National Weather Service has a forecasting model so they can predict where it's more likely or higher risk for rip currents. It a record is a very localized event, 25, 50 years Y and really depends upon both wave action, idle action and limit what's going on underneath there. And so when you've got sand beaches like you have along much of the East Coast or around the panhandle of Florida or the Gulf Coast, they're going to be more prevalent to high out rip currents kind of forming because of the way that bottom can be shaped. But when you've got really steep drop offs close to shore like you may have in the Pacific Northwest, or you've got a rigid reef bottom that doesn't contour the way our sands do, rip currents may not be as much of a risk. And we often look at our surf Lifesaving Australia, which is kind of the gold standard around the country, or not just protecting the beaches, but really gathering information about beach growing communities and putting that towards actionable stuff that their surf lifesaving clubs can implement to keep people safe and what their research ground and what they push out in their annual reports. Up to 80% all when we start waiting. Answers are not rip currents. It's a lot of the other hazards that happen along the coastline. And I think that and just talking about rip currents are leading me to believe that rip currents are the only dangerous birds we miss the opportunity to protect people, say, in the Pacific Northwest or it might be something very different. Yeah, to that point, we hear about rip currents all the time here and and I have my eastern bias as well with that. But what are some of the other you know, once you go after rip currents, what are some of those other those other risk factors? And obviously they're going to be greater in some locations than others. But what are two or three of these things that do come to mind right after the rip currents? Well, I'll tell you, one of the biggest risk factors, because in looking at risk, you need to look at both the people involved and then the physical element that you're discussing and a risk factor. And one of the things that we're trying to address in this next phase of work with National Weather Service is people that aren't from the shore missing, interpreting their swimming ability with the conditions in front of them too often. And you see this in the early drownings in Panama City, Florida, where you've got people coming from anyone say Memphis, Tennessee. I used to come from coming down to the shore, not understanding that even though they know how to swim in a backyard pool or country club pool, the conditions near shore could be completely different. And often the risk factor that's really high is how do we teach people to understand what a two or three foot wave really means for them, or perhaps their seven or eight year old child? And I think as far as just hazards, which can be dangerous, is breaking waves and understanding that even a 2 to 3 foot wave packs a really strong punch if you're not prepared for it. And often what can happen is if you look at some of the nonfatal and fatal drownings, combinations of wind direction, wind strength, wave direction and wave size, knocking people over what an immediate condition in a near-shore environment. That's not what they expect deeper than they expect. And then realizing that, according to Surf Life Saving in Australia, 48% of people that visited the beach said they could not swim at least 50 meters in the ocean without touching the bottom. So if we talk about surviving a rip current, if you pulled out, if you take numbers like that, where 50% of the people cannot even swim 30 meters in the ocean, then it doesn't take much as far as wave and wing box to really make even swimming out of a rip really dangerous and difficult. So I think that really kind of turbulent, unpredictable conditions in a car or near shore or swagger become as deadly or more so than rip current because they can lead to catastrophic events warming. From there. So frightening. So with all of this, you know, we've said it before, you you want to make this a positive experience when you're talking about wave safety, it's not to scare people. It's to empower people. So in these videos. Right, right, right. That mindset instead says saying, hey, like, don't do this, you know, say in a way that empowers you to, you know, tackle the ocean appropriately. Keep in mind, I started working with Noah, talking about our marine sanctuaries, these amazing, beautiful places that are really kind of the place where we kind of protect our wildlife and our our shore environments, our coastal environments, our coral, our marine heritage. And every one of the Waves Safe series, we wrap it up because we want people to have a lifetime of positive experiences that the shore you know, we live at the shore here and and that's an important part of both our culture, our community and even the economy. And I think that we can make any of these dangerous elements like rips or waves a positive experience. And we focused on three main right wanted people to respect the ocean, which really means kind of respect that it's dynamic and changing and it may be stronger than our swimming ability that we can wear. The second is situational awareness. Be aware that things are always changing tides, currents, weather, wear, whitening. It's always evolving and changing, and often you can keep it positive by recognizing that, hey, it was really glassy and calm this morning. Lunch time you come back, the winds are switched. Now it's a little bit more dangerous. So that positive experience this afternoon, we need to stay on the beach or this is the day to go up to the boardwalk and recognizing those changing conditions can impact how safe things are. And finally, you know, take ten. We want to give people the skill set and take ten is focused on rebounding second victim drownings and getting people the skills that it may wind up in. Almost a loved one who is in trouble when they see someone trouble while we give them the tools so that they can live to be the hero, that they'd all become a tragic second victim. Because again, a lifetime of positive experiences at the shore is our number one goal. And brother, I want to shift gears a little bit, but I kind of want to still, I think, is relevant for people who are not boaters. But I do want to talk about boating a little bit because one of the most common things I see get issued by the National Weather Service are small craft advisories. And often the question I get is what exactly does that mean? What does it take to get a small craft advisory and what do they mean by small craft? So for boaters, but I think there are also just a lot of people that will see that on their boat. A small craft advisory and they're not boating. They just want to go to the beach and swim. But like is there, that's something I should be concerned about, that there's a small craft advisory. Does that impact swimmers as well? Absolutely. I think it's a really important question. And some people we we've talked about that, you know, a weather forecast will kind of tell you what is going to happen across a general area. Often before we head to the beach will shop for small craft advisories, will also look at surf reports and surf reports. Often if you look at somewhere like surf Line, where they drill down and beach specific or small craft advisories, it'll be drilled down to a specific county or area. A swimmer or someone going into the water is pretty much a small craft. You know, there's a a small entity that's in the water. And what delineate it's a small craft advisory or triggers that is really is something that probably is is set by National Weather Service, accepted by the weather forecasting offices and has templates that they follow. And I would encourage everyone to look what up to know what triggers that warning were your area. Well, what it often will mean is turbulent, disorganized conditions near shore, driven by wind and swell, and a combination of how they interact that make it not, you know, hard to navigate or control if you're running a small boating craft, a motorized boat. But imagine if it's hard to control or dangerous for someone in a motorized watercraft. How much worse that could be if you're on a stand up or or on a kayak or your swimming, that impact on you in those situations can be much, much worse. Even if you just look at offshore winds, that often would be a component in a small craft advisory pushing someone further away from the beach into dangerous situations in which they cannot get themselves bound for. All right. Well, we're going to take a brief break. And on the other side, we're going to have more with Proctor Chase. You're listening to the Across the Sky podcast. And we are back with the Across the Sky podcast. New episodes come out every Monday where ever you get your podcast or on your favorite newsroom website. We are back here with Brock near Chase. Well, we were talking a lot about wave safety. He is the host of the Wave Safe Program with Noah here. I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about yourself. BRAWNER Here. So, you know, when I was writing your biography, the first thing I had to ask you about was your swim in Alaska, your record setting, no wetsuit swim first. Why did you want to do that? And then secondly, how do you how cold was the water when you were swimming? So so the well, we'll start with the water Temperature of the water temperature was 54 degrees. Okay. Which I think that time was slightly warmer than the air temperature. So you probably got in. There were snow on the mountains back lined up. I you know, I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and got rescued from drowning twice before I was ten. I learned to swim in a country club pool and I I moved to Santa Cruz, California, several years ago, and I guess I just fell in with the wrong crowd. You know, They go, yeah, we're going out to swim in Monterey Bay. And I was like, Wasn't that where all the great white sharks research and they grew? Yeah, yeah. But, you know, we're fine with them. It's, it's a symbiotic relationship. And I'm like, what? You give them your first warning. That's a symbiotic part of it. So I, I started I had been a swimmer in college and found that swimming in cold water in the ocean was something that for some reason I was really a well-adjusted to and had done some some long swims and kind of pushed the envelope a little. But I'd been an endurance athlete on land for four decades, and I heard about a eight and a half mile swim around Pennock Island in Alaska, and I had never been up there before and going up to Alaska to do a swim around the island at the time sounded like a really kind of unique challenge and ended up just fell in love with the place and had one of the best swims I've ever had. My wife was on a kayak supporting me around. We had a orca swim past while we were on the back side of the island and ended up winning the race, beating all the relays and setting a course record that I think still stands today. Incredible. Wow. What kind of background precautions in a situation like that? I mean, I know there's you know, you're not probably tied to a kayak or anything like that, but I mean, are there any kind of background safety things in place and what are they in a situation like that? When I first started working at National Marine Sanctuary, I was working with them as an extreme endurance athlete and swimmer that was doing these kind of unique swims across parts of the sanctuaries. Monterrey Bay is one of the National marine sanctuaries. I did a swim between a couple of islands in American Samoa. I did a swim from the underwater research lab, El Dorado, back to the to the land, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. And so, you know, the base in Alaska was a race. So there was protocol and safety boats throughout the course. And there were young and old people. Not a lot of people apparently line up to go and do swims in Alaska. Go figure. But there are people quolls on there on an aquatic estimate. And then most of people don't even they're more remote on of adventure swims. I've done we have a pretty extensive support crew. We've done a lot of our own work. We know the waters. I've done an extensive amount of training to prepare. And then we we talk to a researcher who's in weather and wildlife and water to kind of as best as possible learn what to expect. So, you know, kind of look at the risks of some of these things no one had done before. And we kind of address each of those points and we get to a point where we feel, you know, this is safe and we can do this. And then it's just up to me and my training and the crew to see if we get all the way across. Real quick before I turn this one over to Matt, is there we hear a lot about hypothermia for for people who are boating, especially in the spring. The water's too cold. I'm imagining there's not like a magic number, but is there a range for people who aren't acclimated or where you are? Sure. Like a water temperature that's like, wow, this this is this is legit, too cold. If I fall into this, I'm going to you know, I could go into shock, hypothermia or something like that. Absolutely. In fact, I work with National Weather Service and I would encourage people to go to the cold water safety segment in National Weather Service on on post on beach Hazards. And we have some standards of what to expect. But there are examples of a warm water, hypothermia. Even someone who falls off a boat in Florida in the water, that's 76, 77 degrees, they can eventually become hypothermic. They can lose function or they can, you know, die and drown people that aren't operated. In my estimation, once you get water below 70 degrees or so, it causes a physiological kind of shock to the system. And often in that one minute to minute window where you're trying to get your breathing under control, you kind of been kind of shocked into kind of a frantic respiratory rate. People often get into trouble just with that immediate response and then the hypothermia. You know, they say that you've got a handful of minutes to kind of get your breathing under control. And then with most people through acclimated, you've got maybe 10 to 15 minutes of functional motion control where you could get yourself out of a dangerous situation. Many times, obviously, if you fall through a frozen lake and get really cold water, that's 30 to 33 degrees. The effect is going to be even faster. But even in 55, 58 degree water in the Pacific Northwest, someone who gets knocked off of a say by a wave fall into that water bay, don't have a lot of time, get out of that water and self-rescue before they end up becoming a victim. And that's you know, I spent some time working with the Customer Rescue SA program. And really what they try to do is some of them can stay calm and afloat. It gives rescuers time to get to them and sadly, cold water really cuts down on that, that time that someone can keep themselves above water and safe and kind of sticking with the time theme, even when we're not talking about water temperatures, they're a recommended amount of time. And I think this is especially important when it comes to, you know, parents and their kids because they see their kids having a fun time at the beach, playing in the water, you know, everything looks good. But at some point you don't want to interrupt the fun. But is there a time amount that the kids should be in the water before they need to come out and at least take a break? Like what kind of a time window should parents be keeping an eye on? Like now? Maybe my kid's been out there a little bit too long, might be getting a little bit too tired, might become more susceptible to the waves or, you know, you know, just, you know, reaching that point of exhaustion, what is kind of like a time window. People should kind of keep in mind when they're in the water before they need to come out and at least take a break for a while. Really. The question for asking really draws on some of my training as a wilderness first responder and just hypothermia set up, whether it's water or air and looking for the early warning sign of that, which is, you know, uncontrolled, shivering, loss of motor control, you know, a discoloration and lips and fingertips and stuff. So parents watching those early signs in the hypothermia continuum and getting your kids out of the water and warming them up so that that doesn't, you know, it kind of progressed. But that's also, you know, the same with surfers. I mean, you can get to the point where you can lose control and maybe not be able to paddle back. Yeah. And then so really kind of intervening, recognizing the early stages of hypothermia, if it's because you're at the shore in the water or just along the shore and the wind and cold temperatures are kind of impacting you or recognizing those early signs that hypothermia and intervening before it progresses to a dangerous point. Hey, Bruckner, I'm going to turn to lifeguarding a little bit. I know you do a little bit of lifeguarding work here at the Jersey Shore. And, you know, you said you're someone you've done a lot of work with Australia. I'm kind of curious, like you compare lifeguarding here in the United States to Australia, like what are some best practices that we're doing? What are best practices that people in Australia are doing? And have you been able to bring over some, you know, concepts from Australia to the U.S. and vice versa? Well, I've been really lucky and with the upper township Beach Patrol and Strap here in South Jersey, I'm also with the Mooloolaba Surf Lifesaving Club in Australia. I've worked with Surf Lifesaving Australian Surf Lifesaving Queensland, all on a larger level on some programs. I've also spent some time in Poland working with their lifesaving community, so I've been able to kind of absorb and look at how people protect the community and help people some very diverse shorelines with very varying resources. And I think that the main thing is lifeguards need to do a good job of educating the community, clearly, indicating where there are dangerous, that people should be aware out. And then hypothetically, the bus case is intervening so that, you know, lifeguards don't need to get wet, but a preventative approach to guarding some of these areas will keep everyone safe. I mean, there are instances of lifeguards being injured or passing away tragically during rescues. I've spent some time in Hawaii, and while we were filming waves safe, we actually had a rescue, a patron that was visiting from Minnesota that got into trouble. And I help one of the lifeguards bring them in at Waikiki. But I think the best practice is really communicating to the community what the dangers are for that specific beach are being consistent with how you communicate. And I think one of the best practices that I really appreciate, Australia is their national organization that sets the standard for all the surf lifesaving clubs. So you have a very uniform process of communicating beach hazards, uniform behavior and operations across each surf lifesaving pop. And I find that it's a little bit different in the U.S. because it's not as mandated across the entire country. So there are a lot of regional differences, which often falls to the beachgoer to recognize and look for. What do I need to know and how is it communicated at this specific agency and at this location? Yeah, and before we wrap up here, I just kind of want to go with your big takeaway. I mean, if you have that one message that you want to get out to people when you're talking about safety at the beach, what is what is that big takeaway message? You know, I spent a lot of time working on it for the Wave Stage series and knowing that lifeguards are going to go off duty after Labor Day, you're going to see a lot your ramen there. The takeaway three things respect the ocean, and that is respecting the dynamic environment that may be stronger, more powerful than what you've experienced. It can change from day to day, from year to year, the kind you visited last year on your vacation may be different this year because of the way storms of the winter reshaped the beach. Respect the ocean. It changes. It can be dynamic and can be dangerous. It can't be situationally aware of the weather of the water, of the people around you or the people in your party that are there with you. Be aware of changing conditions. You can buoy dangerous situations and finally take tent, which is really kind of our call to action. Protect yourself first to save others. We want to prevent both primary drownings. And too often when someone charges in to see someone in trouble and we end up with two backups. So those two the three things respect the Ocean state situationally aware hey ten to protect yourself and save others. Awesome. Very helpful stuff. Brockmire, as always, tremendous resource of what you're doing with Noah and with other organizations, bringing forth, you know, safety and, you know, communications and beachgoers who are going all across not only the Jersey Shore but all across America this summer year. So appreciate you coming on, Bruckner and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks again. Looking beyond the atmosphere, here's Tony Rice with your astronomy outlook. The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend, and it's one of the three most active meteor showers of the year. But this one has the benefit over December's Geminids or January's Quadrantids, peaking at a time where you don't have to bundle up to see them. Nearly every article on the Perseus mentions the number 100 when discussing how many meteors might be seen. Some use the only slightly more accurate phrase up to 100. The reality is most of us won't see nearly that many. That century number comes from the zenith hourly rate or is the h.r. This is a handicapping system of sorts used to correlate reports of meteor activity from around the world. That zenith part means it's being calculated on the radiant or point in the sky where the meteors appear to be coming from being directly overhead, something that's only possible to happen at one latitude and only for a brief time. Z are also mathematically eliminates light pollution and clouds the real enemy of seeing the most meteors. All that being said, though, the Perseus are definitely worth going out to see. And to see the most look to the darkest part of the sky. And meteors can appear anywhere, not just around that radiant point and those hours before sunrise. Those are the best because the radiant point is in the highest point in the sky and that hides the fewest meteors below the horizon. But above all, be patient. The longer you look, the more you'll see. You'll also be amazed how many more stars you'll see just after 15 minutes of letting your eyes adjust to the darkness. And on that, leave that phone inside. Each time you look to a light, the 15 minute timer starts over. That's your astronomy outlook. Follow me at RTP hockey for more space. Stuff like this. Thank you again, Bruckner for hopping on the podcast. 54 degrees Ocean waters and Alaska. Not my cup of tea, but it's definitely Bruckner's and I'm glad it is for him. But on a serious note, lots of good stuff in there. I mean, we say that every podcast, lots of good stuff. I think what what Bruckner Or what separates Bruckner here is that he actually goes out to these places and actually does talk about the weather hazards in those locations. He is an expert not just for, you know, the East Coast, but the West Coast, Gulf of Mexico. He's been to American Samoa many times. So he really has all of the United States, you know, in terms of the shore and what hazards that can bring on lock and how to empower all of us as we go, you know, to the beach, to the bays for the rest of the summer here. Yeah, I mean, it's funny because I can't imagine swimming in 50 degree water. I mean, I would just lock up in a hurry once it gets below 70. I'm just not a very happy, happy dude. I've swam in some sixties upper sixties, you know, when I've gone to the beach and I'm stubborn, I'm just going to wait in it, maybe ride a couple of waves, and then that's done. But, you know, you've got to acclimate to that stuff. And the idea that that you could go, you know, hypothermia could set in at 74, 75 degree water, that's a little shocking to me, to be honest. I think Bruckner is a candidate for our most interesting man in the world. Right? This lady is that that bio you read, Joe, at the start? It's like that raises that raises your eyebrows. Like this guy has some stories to tell. It stirred up. I mean, we barely got into it with him. But I think, you know, you know, he's using that hash of all these things on the water that he's done to spread it. I mean, clearly, they're going to be people that haven't done nearly as much as what he's done and maybe have no desire to. But for someone who's been in the water that long, I mean, you learn a lot about it and the fact that he's you know, now his main mission is spreading safety and awareness. I think there are a lot of good tips that he's spread there out there. And I really like, you know, when you go to the beach, he talks about how excited you get. And, you know, you're especially when you have kids with you. And so sometimes you you know, you're just focused like get in the water. But like, you know, I think what he mentioned was that take ten like just take a quick pause. Look at your surroundings. You know, look, are there any signs of rip currents in front of you before you run into the water? So as much as the emotions can get the best of you when you're having a fun day at the beach. Keep in mind that safety in taking some pause is taking a break, even just getting out of the water to take a break and looking at the water before you get in. Like that's real good advice. Respect the ocean. Yes, respect the ocean. The ocean will respect you. All right. And we are going to wrap it up here for another episode of the Across the Sky podcast. But we have many more episodes lined up for you here. Next Monday, you're going to hear from Zeke Hoare's father about warm ocean waters. You might have heard about that 101 degree ocean water temp off the coast of Florida and one of the bays we're going to talk about the warm ocean waters we've seen. We have Douglas Cossa coming on August 21st talking about heat and football. By the time you listen to this. The NFL's Hall of Fame game will have already happened, kicking off the preseason. So that is coming up. And then on Labor Day weekend, we're going to Sally Warner talking about warming the deep oceans from hurricanes. And that is very important as well. So we have a number of episodes lined up here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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GB2RS News Sunday the 8th of January 2023 The news headlines: Marconi international amateur radio award 2023 Tonight@8 series Direct to Full exams The news team and all the staff at RSGB HQ would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a very Happy New Year. We would like to remind everyone that we always welcome your news, by email, to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, and the deadline is 10am sharp on Thursday mornings. The GB2RS script is uploaded to the RSGB website by 4.30pm each Friday afternoon. “Marconi Was Here!” is an international amateur radio award organised by ARI Fidenza Radio Club. The main objective of the award is to commemorate historically some of the most important and significant Italian cities where Marconi performed scientific experiments in radio engineering, long distance communications, radio direction-finding and others; experiments that, in the following periods, revealed themselves to be crucial for technical and scientific advancement and the progress of wireless communications. The award period lasts the whole of the 2023 year. Each month is dedicated to a specific Italian city connected to the story of Guglielmo Marconi and is paired to a different special callsign. Further details, special callsigns and award rules can be found at  www.arifidenza.it The RSGB's Spring 2023 series of Tonight@8 webinars kicks off this Monday the 9th of January when Ben Lloyd, GW4BML will be talking about Portable Operating. As well as explaining briefly the definition and benefits of portable operating, Ben will also share a little about his amateur radio adventures. These focus mainly on SOTA, working DX and contesting, but all by operating portable. Ben will run through everything that is packed away in his rucksack to enable successful activation. You can watch and ask questions live on our YouTube channel or special BATC channel. Further information about this and other webinars can be found on the Society's website at rsgb.org/webinars Following the introduction of the Direct to Full syllabus in July, bookings for the Direct to Full exam will begin this week. You can only take the exam online but you can book as an individual or through your club via the RSGB website. The first exam slot will be on Saturday the 21st of January and the exam will last for two-and-a-half hours. The bookings page will be updated with the Direct to Full information on Wednesday the 11th of January. Go to rsgb.org/exampay to make a booking. Are you keen to see amateur radio thrive? Do you have the time and enthusiasm to support other radio amateurs and to help shape the RSGB of the future? If so, you still have the opportunity to be nominated in the RSGB elections. This year there are nine roles to be filled and the results will be announced at the Society's AGM in April 2023. An explanation of how to apply for the various roles, as well as the candidate packs and forms for President, Elected Board Director and Regional Representative, are all on the Society's website. The deadline for the Nominated Board Director role has now passed but the closing date for other roles is the 31st of January 2023. Find out more at rsgb.org/election The RSGB National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park will be closed for one day on the 10th of January 2023 to allow electrical maintenance work to be undertaken. When booking a visit on any other day, remember that RSGB members can download a free entry voucher to Bletchley Park from the RSGB website at rsgb.org/bpvoucher The RSGB's RadCom team is looking for authors to contribute to the magazine. Previously unpublished features and articles are always welcome for consideration, and we will pay authors for any content we use. At the moment, the team is particularly interested in hearing from people who enjoy writing about antennas. To contact the RadCom team please email radcom@rsgb.org.uk There is still time to apply for the volunteer roles of RSGB Lecture Chair and RSGB Social Diversity Officer. You can find out more about both of these important roles on the Society's website at rsgb.org/volunteers The RSGB was sad to learn that Peter Bruce, GM0CXQ recently became a silent key. Peter was very active as a Radio Amateur in Shetland both as a Zetland Amateur Radio Club member, exams officer and as a District Representative for the RSGB. Our thoughts are with his family and many friends. And now for details of rallies and events The Lincoln Shortwave Club Winter Radio Rally will be held on Sunday the 29th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road, Market Rasen, LN8 3HT. Doors open at 9.30am and entry is £2. Refreshments are available on site and talk-in is available on 145.375MHz. For more information email Graham via contact@m1dhv.co.uk The Canvey Rally will be held on the 5th of February at Cornelius Vermuyden School, Dinant Avenue, Canvey, Essex, SS8 9QS. The Rally is expected to be the usual hive of activity with plenty of traders and an indoor boot sale. Hot food and drinks will be available. Contact sears.enquiries@gmail.com for further information. The Mid Cheshire Amateur Radio Society Radioactive Fair will be held on Sunday the 12th of February. The venue will be Nantwich Civic Hall, Market Street, Nantwich, CW5 5DG. Doors open at 10am and admission is £5. A wide variety of trader stalls, a bring-and-buy platform and refreshments and snacks will be available. Parking is immediately adjacent to the hall. For more information visit radioactivefair.co.uk Now the Special Event News Special callsign PD23HNY will be active from The Netherlands until the 15th of January in celebration of the New Year. QSL cards will not be issued but a certificate will be available for download. Special callsigns SP90ENIGMA and SP90ENG will be active until the 15th of January. Both stations will be operating to mark the 90th anniversary of Polish cryptologists' first successes in breaking the Enigma code.  Throughout the month of January 2023, Weston super Mare Radio Society will be operating special callsign GB4WSM in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Society's formation on the 3rd of January 1923. Vasteras Radio Klubb in Sweden is celebrating 80 years of existence in 2023. To mark the occasion, the club will be using the callsign 8S80AA throughout 2023 on all bands from 160 to 2m. The special callsign includes a prefix that has never before been assigned. Details of awards connected to the special event can be found by viewing the 8S80AA QRZ.com page. During 2023, the British Railways Amateur Radio Society will be marking 55 years since the withdrawal of steam from the British Railways service in 1968.The callsigns in use during the year will be special event station GB0LMR and the club callsign GX4LMR. The station will be active from Preston and mainly operated by British Railways Amateur Radio Society member Mark, G1PIE. QSL via the Bureau and e-QSL or direct to Pam, 2E1HQY, enclosing a stamped, addressed envelope. More information can be found via the relevant QRZ.com pages. Now the DX news Take, JI3DST will be active from Tanega Island, AS-032, until the 10th of January. He will be operating using SSB, CW and FT8. QSL via Club Log and Logbook of the World. Darren, VK4MAP will be active as FW/VK4MAP from the Wallis and Futuna Islands, in the South Pacific, until the middle of January. He will be operating using SSB on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands. QSL directly to his home call. Earl, WA3DX will be active from Senegal until the 20th of January. He will operate FT8 and some SSB on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World or directly to his home call. Now the contest news The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon began on Thursday the 1st of December. The contest will run until the 31st of January 2023. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator. The ARRL RTTY Roundup ends its two-day run today, Sunday the 8th of January, at 2359UTC. Using the 80 to 10m bands, where contesting is permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. American stations also send their state. Canadian stations send their province. On Tuesday the 10th of January, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also on Tuesday the 10th of January, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 11th of January, the 432MHz FT8 Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 70cm band, the exchange is report and four-character locator. On Thursday the 12th of January, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday the 14th of January, the Worked All Britain 1.8MHz Phone Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. Using SSB on the 160m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and Worked All Britain square. On Sunday the 15th of January, the RSGB Affiliated Societies 80 and 40m Data modes Contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using PSK63 and RTTY, the exchange is signal report and serial number. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Friday the 6th of January 2023 Firstly, a happy New Year to all our listeners. Let's hope that the propagation gods continue to smile on us in 2023! The solar flux index is back near the 150 mark having seen a low of 128 on December the 23rd and a recent high of 165 on New Year's eve. Geomagnetic conditions had been mainly settled. That was until the Kp index hit five on the fourth thanks to a fast-moving enhanced solar wind. This may have come from an Earth-facing coronal hole on the Sun's equator. Propagation-wise, conditions have been good, but not exceptional. The main DX station on the bands has been Thierry, FT8WW on Crozet Island off the coast of South Africa. Thierry has been very active on FT8 and CW, but the pileups have been massive. Next week, NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain in the range of 140-150. Geomagnetic conditions should remain quiet with no visible coronal holes coming into view at the time of writing. Expect the Kp index to be around two to three. And finally, don't forget the low bands, including 160 and 80 metres, which tend to come into their own at this time of year. Look for a night-time path between the UK and the DX, and also consider enhancements just before sunrise for signals from the West. And now the VHF and up propagation news The main weather theme for the next week is once again a continuation of low-pressure systems crossing the country with periods of strong winds and rain. This suggests that tropo produced by high pressure will not feature again this week. It does, however, make rain scatter a possibility on the GHz bands, either from active frontal systems or from showery weather that these systems bring. The unsettled weather is being driven by an active jet stream pattern, which offers good opportunity for ‘out of season' Sporadic-E triggers, particularly towards Italy and round to Scandinavia. These are very rare events in winter, but it will be possible to pick up signs of some Es on the Propquest.co.uk foEs plots on some days. So, don't give up hope and monitor the clusters up to the middle of the month, at least. The disturbed solar conditions put aurora a bit higher up the agenda this week. For meteor scatter enthusiasts, last week's two-hour outburst of the Quadrantids shower was the ‘last hurrah' of showers until the late April Lyrids. We are entering the annual ‘lull' in shower activity, with just the minor Gamma-Ursae-Minorids active from the 10th of January to the 22nd reaching a low maximum on the 18th. Look to benefit from the pre-dawn peak of random meteors. The Moon is at apogee today, Sunday, and declination is positive until late next Friday. Moon windows will slowly shorten and zenith angles decrease, while EME path losses decrease. 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

A meteor shower that may have a complex heritage should be at its best tonight. Unfortunately, the gibbous Moon is in the way for most of the night. Its glare will overpower all but the brightest meteors. The shower was first seen a couple of centuries ago. It occurs when Earth flies through the orbital path of a comet or asteroid. The path is littered with small bits of dust and rock, which vaporize as they slam into Earth's atmosphere. Just which object is responsible for the Quadrantids remained a mystery for a long time. And even today, the subject isn't necessarily settled. Astronomers first associated the shower with a dead comet known as 2003 EH1. Later, they added Comet 96/P Machholz to the list. A study a few years ago said that both bodies could be involved. In fact, they could share a parent — a larger comet that broke up about 9500 years ago. Over the millennia, the orbits of the two fragments moved apart — influenced in part by the gravity of the planets. Today, the fragments follow different paths. One of them could account for the short, intense peak of the Quadrantids, which lasts for only about a day. The other could account for a more widely spread “drizzle” of meteors, which lasts for weeks. The shower peaks before midnight tonight, but the best view may come in the hour or so before dawn, after the Moon sets — a brief window for a meteor shower with a complicated heritage.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Quadrantids meteor shower in this week's stargazing guide PLUS we take a look at 2023's stargazing highlights.TranscriptGuide to observing meteor showers through out the year Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GB2RS News Sunday the 25th of December 2022   The news headlines: Coronation of King Charles III RSGB Elections New edition of RadCom Plus released   Season's greetings to all our listeners! Today's GB2RS news script will the final one of 2022. Today's news reading is optional, as the RSGB appreciates that not all newsreaders will be available as normal, but the script will be on the RGSB website so all can see it. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the newsreaders, who read the news on a variety of platforms, for their service to their fellow amateurs throughout the year. We'd also like to remind amateurs that there is a long-standing convention to listen for news broadcasts on Sundays before transmitting to allow news reading to go ahead without interference. Thank you to all those who listen on Sunday mornings, and the other times that the news is read, to those who call in afterwards to speak to the newsreaders, and to everyone who listens via various platforms. Please note, there will be no script prepared for broadcast on Sunday the 1st of January 2023 due to RSGB HQ being closed from 12.30pm on Friday the 23rd of December until 8.30am on Tuesday the 3rd of January 2023. Newsreaders may, of course, choose to run a net at their normal transmission time, but under their own callsign only. The RSGB is making plans to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III and the Queen Consort in May 2023. The Coronation theme is looking towards the future while being rooted in our traditions, which the Society would like to incorporate in its celebrations. The UK has an ancient chain of fire-based beacons and the RSGB is considering ways that these might be used in the plans. As well as organising events for radio amateurs, this is a great opportunity to demonstrate amateur radio to the public and to gain publicity in the media. If you have any thoughts about how to use the fire beacon chain, or if you have ideas for activities on the Coronation theme that could be used as outreach to the public, please contact the RSGB Coronation Lead, Alan Messenger, G0TLK on special.projects@rsgb.org.uk Are you keen to see amateur radio thrive? Do you have the time and enthusiasm to support other radio amateurs and to help shape the RSGB of the future? If so, you still have the opportunity to be nominated in the RSGB elections. This year there are nine roles to be filled and the results will be announced at the Society's AGM in April 2023. An explanation of how to apply for the Nominated Board Director process, as well as the candidate packs and forms for President, Elected Board Director and Regional Representative, are all on the Society's website. The deadline for the Nominated Board Director role is the 3rd of January 2023 whilst the closing date for other roles is the 31st of January 2023. Find out more at rsgb.org/election The RSGB is pleased to announce that a new edition of RadCom Plus, Volume 7, Issue 1, is out now. RadCom Plus is the RSGB's digital technical supplement and RSGB Members can read it in HTML5 flipbook, PDF and ePub formats. This issue contains almost forty pages, including an article on an active dipole antenna and another on the construction of a portable dish for operating on the 23 and 13cm bands. RadCom Plus can be accessed via www.rsgb.org/radcom-plus The RSGB is releasing three more 2022 Convention videos between Christmas and New Year to give radio amateurs some great content to watch during the festive season. Dr Colin Forsyth from UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory gives a fascinating presentation about Space Weather, whilst Prof Norman Billingham, M0EBI talks about plastics for the radio amateur. Jim Bacon, G3YLA reviews what the 2020s have told us about Sporadic-E. The presentations will be published on three separate days so if you subscribe to the RSGB YouTube channel you will know when they're available. Go to youtube.com/theRSGB   And now for details of rallies and events The Yeovil Amateur Radio Club Rally will be held on Thursday the 29th of December at Davis Hall, Howell Hill, West Camel, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7QX. Doors will be open from 9.30am to 1pm and admission is £3. Free parking is available. The event will include bring and buy as well as 20 tables for traders. For more information contact Bob on 01963 440 167. The Lincoln Shortwave Club Winter Radio Rally will be held on Sunday the 29th of January at The Festival Hall, Caistor Road, Market Rasen, LN8 3HT. Doors open at 9.30am and entry is £2. Refreshments are available on site and talk-in is available on 145.375MHz. For more information email Graham via contact@m1dhv.co.uk The Canvey Rally will be held on the 5th of February at Cornelius Vermuyden School, Dinant Avenue, Canvey, Essex, SS8 9QS. The Rally is expected to be the usual hive of activity with plenty of traders and an indoor boot sale. Hot food and drinks will be available. Contact sears.enquiries@gmail.com for further information.  Now the Special Event News To celebrate the festive season, the Market Reef DX Association in Finland will be using special callsign OG1XMAS. The team will be active on all bands and modes until Monday the 26th of December. QSL via Logbook of the World, Club Log or directly to OH1NOA. Special callsign PD22SANTA will be active from The Netherlands until the 31st of December in celebration of the holiday season. QSL cards will not be issued but a certificate will be available for download. Celebrating the 15th anniversary of Summits On The Air France, special callsign TM15SOTA will be active until the 30th of December. QSL via eQSL. Throughout 2022, the BBC Amateur Radio Group has been celebrating the centenary of British broadcasting using the callsign GB100BBC. There is still time to catch the station on air, with the final day of operation being New Year's Eve. Between Christmas and the new year, operation will take place from the club headquarters shack located on the top floor of BBC Broadcasting House in central London. The team hope to work as many stations as possible to wrap up the year of special activity. Throughout the month of January 2023, Weston super Mare Radio Society will be operating GB4WSM in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Society's formation on the 3rd of January 1923.  Now the DX news Lester, W8YCM will be active as W8YCM/6Y from Jamaica, NA-097, until January 2023. QSL directly via his home callsign. Andre, ON7YK will be active in Bijilo, Gambia until the 24th of February 2023. He is available as C5YK on the 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m bands using SSB, CW and digital modes. QSL via eQSL, Logbook of the World or directly to his home callsign. Gerard, F2JD will be active as HR5/F2JD from Copan, Honduras until the 13th of March 2023. He will be operating using CW, SSB and digital modes on the HF bands. QSL via F6AJA, directly or via the Bureau.  Now the contest news The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon began on Thursday the 1st of December. The contest will run until the 31st of January 2023. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator. On Monday the 26th of December, the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club Christmas Contest runs from 0830 to 1100UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 80 and 40m bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations also send their district or non-member code. Also on Monday the 26th of December, the 50MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. It's not a contest but the Worked All Britain Christmas Party runs from Monday the 26th of December to Friday the 6th of January. Using all bands and modes, the exchange is your Worked All Britain Book number. On Tuesday the 27th of December, the 70MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 28th of December, the 144MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Thursday the 29th of December, the 432MHz Christmas Contest runs from 1400 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator.  Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 22nd of December 2022 The solar flux index stayed around 150 over the last week, bringing some choice DX to the higher HF bands. However, solar flares continue to plague us, bringing short-lived band fade-outs at times. These have all been moderate C- and M-class flares. It is uncertain as to whether or not there will be an X-class flare soon. Meanwhile, try and work some Arctic Circle DX. Santa's broadcasting arm, Santa Radio, OF9X, will be active again, on all amateur radio bands, using CW, SSB and digital modes until the end of the year. On any band, from 10MHz and up, it should be fine to make contact with OF9X during the day, with 80m and 40m being ideal for night-time contact. The DX cluster is probably the best way to find where they are operating. NOAA predicts that the solar flux may decline slightly over the next week, perhaps going down to 125. But then it should rebound, maybe making it to 160 by the first week of January. Unfortunately, solarham.com is currently offline. Kevin, VE3EN, who produces the site, says that hopefully this downtime will be short-lived. Keep an eye on the URL as it remains one of the most useful sites for radio amateurs. And now the VHF and up propagation news There will be a very unsettled flavour to the Christmas propagation weather with many lows tracking across the country into the New Year. There will be spells of strong winds to provide a few nail-biting moments for antennas, but the main theme is for bands of rain and heavy showers. These will be capable of producing some rain scatter on the GHz bands on most days in one part of the country or another. Cold air will be present at times to give some snow scatter in places, although primarily over northern Britain. The chances of traditional high-pressure systems bringing some festive tropo are very low indeed with the nearest high displaced well away over southeast Europe. The solar conditions will doubtless be worth considering as a possible indicator of auroral propagation if the Kp index rises above about five or six. Mid-winter Sporadic-E, can surprise us over the period from now to roughly mid-January. A good example was shown on the Dourbes ionosonde on Monday the 19th of December when the Sporadic-E critical frequency reached 5.45MHz at 2300UTC and coincided with a jet stream nearby. There will be plenty of jet stream activity, so it is well worth checking the clusters. Don't be too fixed upon the usual times for Sporadic-E since these events tend to be driven by the timing of significant weather features. For meteor scatter enthusiasts, the Leonis Minorids are still active but past their maximum, so we await the Quadrantids to peak with a zenithal hourly rate of around 120 between the 3rd and 4th of January. Unlike other meteor showers that tend to stay at their peak for about two days, the peak period of the Quadrantids lasts only a few hours. Moon declination is rising, so Moon windows will continue to lengthen, and zenith angles increase, while EME path losses increase after Christmas Eve's perigee. 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

Hosted by Chris Beckett & Shane Ludtke, two amateur astronomers in Saskatchewan. The lads do battle with the -40*C cold weather and talk about the various sights the January 2022 skies have to offer. Such as the super thin crescent Venus, then Saturn & Jupiter following close behind. The Quadrantids meteor shower has passed, though. As the month progresses, the Moon will pair up with lots of planets.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.

Join us this week as we kick off the new year! Hannah takes us to the “Little Poland” area of Chicago in the 1920s, where Tillie Klimek started causing havoc in her neighborhood. She was known to be a bit psychic and became really good at predicting the deaths of all of her husbands. Bad deeds ran through her family tree and we also learn about her cousin Nellie's murderous nature. For fun, you will hear some terrifying French folklore of the not so noble nobleman “Bluebeard” and some fun facts about 1876. For astrology, the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower occurs January 3rd - 4th.

The stars are eternal — by human standards, anyway. But the constellations are not. That's because the constellations were drawn by people. And what one person draws, another can erase. Consider Quadrans Muralis. It's the namesake for the year's first meteor shower, the Quadrantids, because the meteors all appear to “rain” into Earth's atmosphere from that direction. But you won't find Quadrans Muralis on any modern starchart. French astronomer Joseph Lalande drew the constellation in 1795. He named it for the wall quadrant — an astronomical instrument that was used to plot the positions of stars. He carved the constellation out of a mostly barren patch of sky that's bounded by Boötes, Draco, and Hercules. Although several of Lalande's constellations caught on, this one didn't. Yet the meteor shower still bears the name of the extinct constellation. The shower itself should be at its best tomorrow night, with a peak rate of dozens of meteors per hour. If you trace the paths of the meteors across the sky, they all appear to originate in Hercules. But they can streak across any part of the sky, so you don't need to look toward Hercules to see them. The Moon is new today, so it's completely out of view — it won't dampen the fireworks. To give the Quadrantids a try, find a safe, dark viewing spot, away from city lights. Then bundle up and enjoy the show — a reminder of the changing landscape of the night sky.  Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The sky rings in the new year with 2022's first meteor shower - the Quadrantids - as the Waxing Moon encounters the planets. Star Signs is supported by you, when you become a student at Stargazing✦London. Go to https://stargazing.london and take a FREE stargazing course today!

The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks this week. Earth is closest to the sun. The moon passes in front of planets somewhat often. Planets passing in front of other planets? Every once in a few lifetimes.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 10th of January 2021 The news headlines: Happy New Year from RSGB Volunteers invited to stand for election Celebrating 200 years of Greek independence The news team and all the staff at RSGB HQ would like to wish our newsreaders, listeners and online readers a very Happy New Year. We would like to remind everyone that we always welcome your news, by email to radcom@rsgb.org.uk, and the deadline is 10 am sharp on Thursday mornings. The GB2RS script is uploaded to the RSGB website by 4.30 pm each Friday afternoon. We’re into the final weeks of the nominations process for the RSGB elections, which will end at 2359UTC on the 31st of January. The Society is looking for its next President as Dave Wilson, M0OBW will retire at the AGM. There is also a place for one elected Board Director. In addition, there are three Regional Representative vacancies in Regions 2, 6 and 12 because the current post holders were co-opted into a vacancy after the last AGM. Each one has indicated their willingness to stand for election but applications are also welcome from all RSGB Members living in these particular Regions. For more information about any of these roles, how to nominate someone or for information about the election process, visit www.rsgb.org/election. The results will be announced at the RSGB’s online AGM on Saturday the 24th of April. To commemorate the 200th anniversary, the Greek Independence Award will run throughout 2021. Anyone can take part and all mode and types of QSO are valid. The website https://sv2rck.gr/200YEARS lists a number of award stations. Get on the air for Christmas finished yesterday, Saturday the 9th of January, but you still have time to enter the construction competition. Projects can be hardware, software or a system and may be based on a kit. There is a prize of £100 and the winning entry will be featured on the Society’s website and in RadCom. The deadline for entries is the 1st of February. See the details at www.rsgb.org/gota4c. Elettra is the vessel on which Marconi conducted many experiments. The Elettra: the miracle ship award commemorates the centenary of the ship's official registration under the name of Elettra. The award period lasts the whole year and there will be a different special event callsign each month. Detail at www.arifidenza.it. Were you one of the 19,000 people who enjoyed the RSGB’s Tonight @ 8 webinars last year? The 2021 series starts tomorrow, Monday the 11th of January, when Steve Hartley, G0FUW and Pete Juliano, N6QW will talk about amateur radio construction. Despite what many people think, building your own radio equipment is still a very popular aspect of amateur radio. This presentation will share some ideas on how to get started and provide some examples of homebrew gear, using hardware and software. Watch live and ask questions on the RSGB YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/theRSGB. A QSO Party to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Marconi Club AR Loano will take place on the 16th of January. Running from 0800 to 2200UTC using the 20, 40 and 80m bands with CW only, you can find out the rules at www.ariloano.it/marconiclub. Permission has been announced for Category 1 Uzbek licensees to operate in the new WRC-15 Amateur 60m Secondary Allocation of 5351.5 – 5366.5kHz with a maximum power of 100W. Now the special event news Hull and District Amateur Radio Society is celebrating 100 years of amateur radio clubs in the Hull area with a year-long special event station, callsign GB10OH. The station will operate most days throughout 2021 on bands ranging from 160m to 70cm and using different modes. Further details about the station and QSL options can be found on QRZ.com. During 2021, the British Railways ARS will be celebrating its 55th anniversary. They will be running the special event call GB0LMR, operated by BRARS member Mark, G1PIE from Preston in Lancashire. Bands of operation will be 40 to 10 metres using PSK-31, PSK-63 and SSB, plus VHF/UHF. Further information is on QRZ.com and www.brars.info. Now the DX news Grant, VK5GR will be active as VK5KI from Kangaroo Island, OC-139, until the 22nd of January. He plans to operate holiday style on the 80 to 6m bands using CW, SSB and FT8, possibly with some RTTY and PSK. QSL via M0OXO's OQRS. Seba, SQ1SGB and Will, M0ZXA expect to be active as VP8/SQ1SGB or VP8HAL and VP8DOI from Halley VI Research Station, Antarctica until the 4th of February. In their spare time, they will operate SSB and digital modes FT8 and JT65 on 40 and 20 metres. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for any new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your national and local government’s advice. Today, the 10th, the Datamodes AFS contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. The SSB AFS contest takes place on Saturday from 1300 to 1700UTC. Both use the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, and the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Monday and Tuesday, the 2nd Christmas Hope QSO Party has two sessions. The first is 0930 to 1100UTC on the 11th using FT4 on the 3.5 to 28MHz bands, with an exchange of your 4-character locator. The second is 1100 to 1230UTC on the 12th using CW on the same bands with an exchange of signal report and serial number. Tuesday sees the 432MHz FM Activity Contest run from 1900 to 1955UTC. It is followed by the All-Mode UKAC from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator. Wednesday and Thursday see two more sessions of the 2nd Christmas Hope QSO Party. The first is on the 13th from 1230 to 1400UTC using RTTY. The second session is on the 14th from 1400 to 1530UTC using SSB. The exchange is the same for both, signal report and serial number, as are the bands to be used, 3.5 to 28MHz. On Thursday, the 50MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Saturday, the Worked All Britain 1.8MHz Phone Contest runs from 1900 to 2300UTC. The exchange is signal report, serial number and WAB square. Don’t forget, the UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon runs until the end of January 2021. Just exchange a signal report and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Thursday the 7th of January. We start by welcoming in 2021, and here’s hoping that it proves to be more fruitful than 2020 in terms of HF propagation. We’ve started the New Year with zero sunspots and a solar flux index back in the mid-70s on Thursday the 7th. The STEREO Ahead spacecraft is not showing anything of note around the back of the Sun, but we know that spots can suddenly appear. HF propagation has been relatively poor, but with seasonal ionospheric changes mainly being responsible for an uplift in daytime critical and maximum usable frequencies. Daytime critical frequencies have generally been in the range of 4.5 to 5.5MHz, falling to below 3.5MHz by 1930UTC on most evenings. This means that 80m is ceasing to be suitable for local NVIS contacts as the evening progresses, which is normal for this time of year. Daytime maximum usable frequencies over a 3,000km path have exceeded 18 and even 21MHz on most days, with winter Sporadic-E being the main DX mode on the higher 12 and 10 metre bands. There has been the odd F2-layer opening on 28MHz, but we will need some more sunspot activity to make band openings more reliable. NOAA predicts the solar flux index will remain in the high 70s at the beginning of next week, reflecting the lack of sunspot activity. The Kp index is predicted to reach a maximum of only two, due to a lack of coronal hole and coronal mass ejection activity. This means we may have a more settled ionosphere, which may be good for HF DX. So in summary, it's more of the same in terms of HF propagation next week, with no real highlights. But don’t ignore the lower bands, such as 1.8, 3.5, and 7MHz, which can really come into their own in mid-winter. And now the VHF and up propagation news. Despite no Tropo for a number of weeks, there has been high pressure to the west of Britain for some time. During the weekend and next week, it will become more dominant over much of the country, initially favouring Tropo for the south-western parts, but perhaps more generally later. This may be temporarily curtailed by frontal systems moving across the country around midweek and thus add some options for GHz rain scatter, but some models bring a ridge of high pressure back later in the week. As hinted at in the last bulletin, a sudden stratospheric warming did indeed develop on the 4th of January 2021. As mentioned, it can have impacts on not just the stratospheric flow but can influence weather patterns nearer the surface about a couple of weeks later. In a related note, it appears the models, after a milder next week, are hinting at a colder northerly spell again after the following weekend. Staying with the stratospheric wind flow changes, these may have a possible link to winter Sporadic-E events and it’s worth monitoring 10m and 6m for activity in the next couple of weeks or so, especially FT8, but CW and SSB are not impossible. After the excitement of the Quadrantids meteor shower we are now entering the annual quiet period in meteor activity with just two significant showers between now and the April Lyrids, so back to pre-dawn random meteors for the best chance of DX. The Moon was at perigee yesterday, so path losses are at their lowest, but it’s at minimum declination on Tuesday meaning Moon windows are short and low elevation. The Moon only reaches 12 degrees elevation on Tuesday, meaning horizon noise will be an issue all week at VHF. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

The Astronomy, Technology and Space Science News Podcast.SpaceTime with Stuart Gary Series 24 Episode 3*Strange signal detected from Proxima CentauriScientists at SETI the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence are trying to understand a strange signal which was detected by the Parkes Radio Telescope originating in the Proxima Centauri star system.*Israel’s ambitious new plans for a moon missionThe Israeli non-profit initiative SpaceIL has announced plans for another attempt to land a spacecraft on the lunar surface.*Astronomers see a comet transitioning between familiesA comet discovered last year is providing new clues about how these icy worlds are moved into on orbits which bring them into the inner solar system and close to Earth.*January SkyWatchThe Earth moves into Perihelion its closest orbital position to the Sun.The dog star Sirius.The Quadrantids meteor shower. Show Your Support For SpaceTime and Help Us Reach Our GoalsSpaceTime is an independently produced podcast (we’re not funded by any government grants, big organisations or companies), and we’re working towards becoming a completely listener supported show...meaning we can do away with the commercials and sponsors. We figure the time can be much better spent on researching and producing stories for you, rather than having to chase sponsors to help us pay the bills.By signing up and becoming a supporter, you get immediate access to over 230 commercial-free, double and triple episode editions of SpaceTime plus extended interview bonus content. You also receive all-new episodes on a Monday rather than having to wait the week out. Subscribe via Patreon or Supercast....and share in the rewards. Details at Patreon www.patreon.com/spacetimewithstuartgary or Supercast - https://bitesznetwork.supercast.tech/ Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/spacetime. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first meteor shower of the year doesn’t waste time. It comes early, flares quickly, and disappears in a hurry. And it’s at its peak late tonight. The Quadrantid shower gets its name from an old constellation. Quadrans Muralis represented an astronomical instrument used in the 18th century. When astronomers reworked the list of constellations in the 1920s, though, they dropped Quadrans Muralis. Most of its stars were incorporated into Boötes the herdsman. By then, the shower had already taken the constellation’s name. That’s because if you trace its meteors, they all appear to “rain” into the sky from that region. So even though the constellation vanished, the meteor shower kept the name. The Quadrantids form one of the best showers of the year. At their peak, you might see several dozen “shooting stars” per hour. Yet that rate lasts only a short time. That’s because the trail of “comet dust” that spawns the meteors isn’t very wide. So Earth plunges right through it — limiting the Quadrantids to a busy but quick showing. For American skywatchers, this year’s Quadrantids should be at their best before dawn tomorrow. Unfortunately, the gibbous Moon will be shining brightly — overpowering all but the brightest meteors. Even though it spoils the shower, the Moon does offer up a bit of a consolation. It’s close to Regulus, the heart of Leo, the lion — forming a beautiful pairing in the early morning sky. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The first meteor shower of the year doesn’t waste time. It comes early, flares quickly, and disappears in a hurry. And it’s at its peak late tonight. The Quadrantid shower gets its name from an old constellation. Quadrans Muralis represented an astronomical instrument used in the 18th century. When astronomers reworked the list of constellations in the 1920s, though, they dropped Quadrans Muralis. Most of its stars were incorporated into Boötes the herdsman. By then, the shower had already taken the constellation’s name. That’s because if you trace its meteors, they all appear to “rain” into the sky from that region. So even though the constellation vanished, the meteor shower kept the name. The Quadrantids form one of the best showers of the year. At their peak, you might see several dozen “shooting stars” per hour. Yet that rate lasts only a short time. That’s because the trail of “comet dust” that spawns the meteors isn’t very wide. So Earth plunges right through it — limiting the Quadrantids to a busy but quick showing. For American skywatchers, this year’s Quadrantids should be at their best before dawn tomorrow. Unfortunately, the gibbous Moon will be shining brightly — overpowering all but the brightest meteors. Even though it spoils the shower, the Moon does offer up a bit of a consolation. It’s close to Regulus, the heart of Leo, the lion — forming a beautiful pairing in the early morning sky. Script by Damond Benningfield Support McDonald Observatory

The Senate adjourned Friday night without securing $2,000 stimulus checks, leaving hopes for another round of payments in the hands of the next Congress. Now, legislators will not reconvene until Sunday to end the 116th Congress, and usher in the 117th. Plus, important considerations on timing of vaccines that require a second dose, this weekend has the last games of the regular season for the NFL, college football wraps up too and the first meteor shower of the year, the Quadrantids arrives Sunday morning.

2021 is on your doorstep, asking you to come out and play.– DON MACHHOLZ Podcast-52-Map-1-Evening-SkyDownload Podcast-52-Map-2-Morning-SkyDownload Podcast-52-Map-3-CometsDownload Podcast-52-Map-4-BetelgeuseDownload Podcast-52-Map-5-M74Download

December's full moon, the "cold moon," arrives tonight, though in our area it may be obscured by clouds and snowfall. However, if the clouds hold back on Sunday morning between 4 and 6 a.m. there will be a good chance of seeing the Quadrantids, an annual January meteor shower, radiating from a point above the handle of the Big Dipper. If the waxing moon to the west is too bright, Astro Bob recommends standing on the eastern side of a building to give yourself a good opportunity to see them. The Quandratids are named a former constellation known as Quadrans Muralis (omitted from the International Astronomical Union's official list in 1922), situated between Draco, The Big Dipper and Boötes.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 27th of December 2020 The news headlines: Thanks and seasonal greetings Charity auction raises over £1000 New GB2RS News Manager appointed This is the final GB2RS news reading for 2020 and we start with seasonal greetings to all newsreaders and listeners, both over the air and via the internet recordings, and not forgetting viewers of the ATV broadcast, which is available via several repeaters and kindly streamed via the BATC.TV website, as well as those that get this news via TX Factor or podcasts. We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all those that read the news, in whatever format, for their tireless dedication to their fellow amateurs. There will be an abbreviated news reading available for the 3rd of January, although it’s voluntary as the RSGB realises not all newsreaders will be available. A full GB2RS service will resume on the 10th of January. The RSGB is delighted that its charity auction for Get on the air for Christmas had a fantastic winning bid of £1,025.99. Ellie Orton, Chief Executive of NHS Charities Together said, “Thank you so much, Roy Bailey, for choosing to raise funds for NHS Charities Together in such a unique way. In addition, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the RSGB for kindly match-funding the winning bid. These funds mean we can continue to help NHS charities to support NHS staff, volunteers and patients at the centre of this crisis.” Get on the air for Christmas continues until the 9th of January and there are still many activities you can take part in. Go to the Society’s website at www.rsgb.org/gota4c. The RSGB Board has appointed Steve Richards, G4HPE as the new GB2RS Manager. A long-time GB2RS newsreader himself, Steve has had a lifelong career in broadcasting. He will start his new role in the New Year and can be contacted via email at gb2rs.manager@rsgb.org.uk. RAYNET groups in several coastal areas have been on active standby in the last few days. In the South East in particular, groups have been ready to act alongside Local Resilience Forums to help with the lorry chaos caused by the temporary closure of the French border. In areas where there are large ports, groups have been preparing to offer assistance with difficulties envisaged with Brexit. These include working with other voluntary agencies conducting welfare checks on lorry drivers who may be in long queues, plus helping to ensure the distribution of vital supplies including Covid-19 vaccines. Several groups have activated wide-area communications systems, including one where the local authority has installed a new PMR system that some feel may not be adequate to cope with extreme call volumes. On the 2nd of January, the RSGB National Radio Centre plans to host the special event station GB2DAY, to help promote the well-established KW activity weekend. The NRC hopes to operate on both the 80 and 40m bands using its KW2000D – an incredibly rare prototype model that never made it into mainstream production at the KW Factory. The event will be held within appropriate Covid restrictions. An ARISS Slow Scan TV event is scheduled from the International Space Station for late December. This will be a special SSTV event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amateur Radio on ISS. The event is scheduled to begin on the 24th of December and continue through until the 31st of December. Dates are subject to change due to ISS operational adjustments. Listen out for Youngsters On The Air stations around the world. GB20YOTA will be operating until the end of December. The full calendar is shown on the GB20YOTA page on QRZ.com. The latest ICQ Podcast contains an update on the RSGB’s Get on the air for Christmas campaign as well as a wider look at amateur radio construction. The chat with Board Director Stewart Bryant, G3YSX; Construction Competition Lockdown Category winner Roy Bailey, G0VFS; and RSGB Communications Manager Heather Parsons starts at 1:18:15 in the ICQ Podcast episode. See https://tinyurl.com/icq-gota4c-update. RSGB HQ is closed for the Christmas and New Year until at 8.30 am on the 4th of January. During that time, if you need information about amateur radio, exams or RadCom you’ll find lots of information on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org. The RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park is currently closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the special event news From the 1st to the 28th of January, GB4BLC will be operational from the QTH of G8GMU. Operation will take place on most bands and will include digital modes. This station is promoting the work of Lions Clubs International and amateur radio. Members and supporters of Denby Dale ARS are running special event stations to welcome the New Year from the end of December. They will be using callsigns GB – number – HNY. For more details see the QRZ.com entry for GB9HNY. Thurrock Acorns ARC members will be on the air as GB4XMS from the 20th of December to the 3rd of January. During the month of December, Welland Valley ARS members will be running GB1XMS, GB2XMS, GB5XMS and GB9XMS from their home shacks. QSL via eQSL and Logbook of The World. Now the DX news Kenji, JA4GXS will be active as JA4GXS/4 from Otsu Island, IOTA reference AS-117, on the 25th and 26th of December. He will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on 40, 30 and 20m bands. QSL via home call. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for any new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your national and local government’s advice. As per tradition, December is a quiet month for traditional contests, with no RSGB HF contests, but do look out for the RSGB Hope QSO Parties. There are two series, which run from 21 December to 14 January, with a short break over Christmas. You can find out details at https://tinyurl.com/RSGB-Christmas-Hope-QSO. On Tuesday, the 29th, the 50MHz Machine Generated Modes Contest and the 144MHz Machine-generated Modes contest both run from 2000 to 2130UTC. The exchange for both is signal report, serial number and locator. On the 1st of January, the IRTS 80m Daytime Counties contest runs from 1700 to 1800UTC. Using SSB and CW, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with EI and GI stations, also sending their County. On Saturday the 2nd, the CW AFS contest runs from 1300 to 1700UTC. Using the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. The first session of the EUCW 160m CW Party is also on the 2nd from 2000 to 2300UTC, with the second session on the 3rd at 0400 to 0700UTC. The ARRL RTTY Roundup runs from 1800UTC on the 2nd of January to 2359UTC on the 3rd. Using the 3.5 to 28MHz contest bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number, with US stations sending their State and Canadians their Province too. The Worked All Britain Christmas party runs until the 6th of January. Using all modes on the amateur contest bands, the exchange is the WAB book number. The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon runs until the end of January 2021. Just exchange a signal report and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Wednesday the 23rd of December. HF conditions were not terribly good over the last week with maximum usable frequencies down in general. The best DX has been on 40m, especially around greyline times, although there has been a little winter Sporadic-E activity on 10 metres as well that has seen Italy and Spain appearing on FT8, as well as Brazil on 10m via the F2 layer. The lack of sunspots has seen the solar flux index move back down to the low 80s again. Solar matter from a coronal hole pushed the Kp index up to four late on Monday evening as predicted and on Tuesday the Kp index was still pegged at three for most of the morning. NOAA predicts that the solar flux index will remain in the 80s for the Christmas period, with active region 2794 helping to push it towards 86 over Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Unfortunately, NOAA also predicts that a high-speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole may impact Earth over the Christmas period, so we may expect the Kp index to rise again to four or even five just before Christmas with detrimental effects on maximum usable frequencies. Look out for possible pre-auroral enhancements, although these are hard to predict. This should start to settle by the 27th, with the Kp index predicted to go back down to two. So DX conditions may improve after that time. There is little other festive cheer, with the SFI remaining in the low 80s for the rest of the month and into the New Year. Let’s hope 2021 sees the return of the upward trend of Solar Cycle 25 with an increase in sunspots and HF DX. And now the VHF and up propagation news. It’s looking like a predominantly unsettled period of weather over the Christmas holidays, with a ridge of high pressure to the west of Britain soon declining to allow low pressure to move in and reside over the UK for the bulk of next week. This has a chance of providing some good rain scatter conditions on the GHz bands. Sporadic-E has a habit of appearing at this time of year. There is some work that relates the chances of Sporadic-E to disturbances in the stratosphere when the winter polar vortex breaks down in a feature called a sudden stratospheric warming, where temperatures can increase by tens of degrees Celsius over 24 hours. This disturbance in the stratosphere can produce conditions where Sporadic-E is more likely because of the changed flow pattern. Check the usual Sporadic-E bands like 10m and 6m for signs of activity, especially during the first two weeks of January, but it is probably better to focus on the period 9 am to 3 pm rather than the summer pattern of mid-morning and late afternoon. The Quadrantids meteor shower peaks between late-night on the 2nd of January until dawn on the 3rd with, a huge ZHR of 110. It is known for bright fireball meteors causing big over-dense radio meteor bursts. You have to be ready at the right time though, as the peak is very short, lasting just a few hours. This is because the shower is a thin stream of particles and the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular angle. The Moon reaches maximum declination this Tuesday so visibility windows are long. Today we are at apogee so losses are high but 144MHz sky noise is low, not reaching 500 kelvin until Tuesday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 20th of December 2020 The news headlines: Only one more GB2RS this year RadCom Plus out now Short break for ETCC Next Sunday, the 27th, will see the final GB2RS script for 2020. The deadline for news is 10 am on Tuesday the 22nd of December, instead of the usual Thursday. The news reading on the 27th is optional, as the RSGB appreciates that not all newsreaders will be available as normal, but the script will be on the RGSB website so all can see it. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the newsreaders who read the news on a variety of platforms for their service to their fellow amateurs throughout the year. We’d also like to remind amateurs that there has been a long-standing convention to keep 145.525MHz free of traffic at 10 am on Sundays, to allow the news reading to go ahead without interference. Thank you to all those who listen on Sunday mornings, and the other times that the news is read, to those who call in after to speak to the newsreaders, and to everyone who listens via various internet-based ways. There will be no script prepared for broadcast on Sunday the 3rd of January 2021 due to the RSGB HQ being closed. Newsreaders may, of course, choose to run a net at their normal transmission time, but under their own callsign only. The newest edition of RadCom Plus is now available to RSGB Members for viewing or download. This edition contains over 40 pages of technical articles ranging from a Wide Dynamic Range Field Strength Meter to a Tracking Generator for the SA3000 homebrew spectrum analyser, which was itself described in an earlier issue. Go to www.rsgb.org/radcom-plus for more information. You can also sign up for an email alert when future editions of RadCom Plus are available at the same web address. The RSGB’s Emerging Technology Coordination Committee will be having a break from processing and renewing repeater, gateway and beacon Notices of Variation from the 22nd of December to the 4th of January. It has had its busiest year ever, with three times the number of usual applications. The Committee would like to remind all NoV holders whose renewals fall due over the holiday period, to check the reminders that have been sent to them and get the renewals in straight away. Throughout 2020 the IARU has been busily contributing to and participating in the work of CEPT Project Team SE40 concerning the 23cm band Galileo/GLONASS coexistence topic. The last SE40 meeting in 2020 was held from the 2nd to the 7th of December and the IARU Region 1 was represented by Barry Lewis, G4SJH who is the Region 1 SRLC chair. It can be expected that the technical studies will begin in earnest as we move forward into 2021. You can read more on the IARU Region 1 website, www.iaru-r1.org. The RSGB Board has appointed Stephen Purser, GW4SHF to the role of Nominations Committee Chair. He will commence his duties immediately and plans, together with the rest of the Committee, to present two candidates to the AGM in April for endorsement as Nominated Directors. If you are interested in becoming an RSGB Board Director and feel you have the time, enthusiasm and skills for the role, contact Stephen via email to nominations.chair@rgb.org.uk. Listen out for Youngsters On The Air stations around the world. GB20YOTA will be operating throughout December. Hilderstone Radio Society will operate part of today and tomorrow, Monday the 21st. On Wednesday, GM1DSK will supervise operator MM7DWK. M0NCG takes over on Thursday and GW0RVR has the call on Saturday, supervising 2W0PQU. The full calendar is shown on the GB20YOTA page on QRZ.com. The callsign EI0YOTA has been activated a number of times since the start of December. Between eight-year-old Ryan, EI8KW and eleven-year-old Siobhan, they have achieved over one thousand QSOs so far. RSGB HQ will close for the Christmas and New Year period from 4.30 pm on the 23rd of December. It opens again at 8.30 am on the 4th of January. During that time, if you need information about amateur radio, exams or RadCom you’ll find lots of information on the RSGB website, www.rsgb.org. Last UK orders from the RSGB shop for delivery in time for Christmas is 10 am on Tuesday the 22nd of December. The RSGB’s National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park is currently closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the special event news Members and supporters of Denby Dale ARS are running special event stations to welcome the New Year from the end of December. They will be using callsigns GB – number – HNY. For more details see the QRZ.com entry for GB9HNY. Operators Ray, PA5DX and Wim, PD8DX will be activating three special event callsigns PA20XMAS, PD20SANTA and PD20ELF during the Christmas holiday season. There will be a special downloadable award for working at least two of the Christmas stations; see the QRZ.com entry for PA20XMAS. Thurrock Acorns ARC members will be on the air as GB4XMS from the 20th of December to the 3rd of January. During the month of December, Welland Valley ARS members will be running GB1XMS, GB2XMS, GB5XMS and GB9XMS from their home shacks. QSL via eQSL and Logbook of The World. Now the DX news Kenji, JA4GXS will be active as JA4GXS/4 from Otsu Island, IOTA reference AS-117, on the 25th and 26th of December. He will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on 40, 30 and 20m bands. QSL via home call. Now the contest news Please remember to check before the contest for any new rules due to lockdown and social distancing, which may differ around the world. The RSGB strongly advises obeying your national and local government’s advice. As per tradition, December is a quiet month for traditional contests, with no RSGB HF contests, but do look out for the RSGB Hope QSO Parties. There are two series, which run from 21 December to 14 January, with a short break over Christmas. You can find out details at https://tinyurl.com/RSGB-Christmas-Hope-QSO. On Saturday, the 26th, the DARC Christmas Contest runs from 0830 to 1100UTC. Using CW and SSB on the 3.5 and 7MHz bands, the exchange is signal report and serial number. German stations will also exchange either DOK or NM. The Christmas Cumulatives start at 1400UTC on the 26th and run until 1600UTC on the 29th. Using all modes in the 50 to 432MHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain Christmas party takes place between the 26th of December and the 6th of January. Using all modes on the amateur contest bands, the exchange is the WAB book number. The Stew Perry Top Band Challenge runs from 1500UTC on the 26th to 1500UTC on the 27th. It’s CW only on 160m and the exchange is your 4-character locator square. The UK Six Metre Group Winter Marathon runs until the end of January 2021. Just exchange a signal report and locator. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA & G4BAO on Friday the 18th of December. We’ve had another week of lacklustre sunspot activity. The solar flux index has been pegged at around 82, caused by the two tiny sunspots in active region 2793. Having said that, a lack of coronal hole activity has meant that geomagnetic conditions have been settled, with a maximum Kp index of two, but more often than not it was actually at zero. This has meant that the daytime critical frequency over the UK has frequently been around 5.5MHz. This means a maximum usable frequency over a 3,000km path of around 21MHz, with very occasional openings on 28MHz. Even 10m FT8 has been sounding quiet, with intra-UK signals being most prevalent. You can often see 10m FT8 ground-wave signals up to around 100 miles away being decoded. We did have a C-class solar flare on Monday the 14th, but as it was in the afternoon with sunset only an hour or so away it didn’t do too much damage, with the ionosphere recovering very quickly. Next week, NOAA predicts the SFI will be at 85 to 86. The effects of another coronal hole will likely be felt across this weekend, with the potential for the Kp index to rise to four. But after that subsides, geomagnetic conditions are likely to be more settled, with a maximum Kp index of two over the Christmas period. Santa Claus is taking a rest this year at OF9X in Finland, but we do have some other Christmas DX for you to chase. The CQ Santa Net is held in the USA on 3.916MHz every day at 0115UTC. There is a chance you may hear it, depending upon who is operating, as December is generally a good month for transatlantic low-band propagation – just ask Guglielmo Marconi, who traversed the Atlantic on the 12th of December 1901! Please note that amateurs in the UK cannot transmit on 3.916MHz as it is outside of the UK allocation, but you may be able to hear the net taking place. And now the VHF and up propagation news. We continue through this first weekend with the unsettled theme to the weather giving wet and windy conditions at times so again it's a good period to test out some rain scatter paths on the GHz bands. A major change is shown in some models from midweek as high-pressure edges towards Ireland from the Atlantic and puts a colder northerly flow down across the British Isles from midweek. This will not be useful for Tropo, since the high remains well to the west, but it will allow some showers to affect many areas and it’s not totally out of the question that some could have a wintry flavour in the second half of the week. At the end of next week the high moves in across the country, but it's still unlikely to be a strong Tropo player. The Geminids meteor shower has peaked. Activity was high, with stations running just 50 watts and a small beam reporting good digimode meteor scatter QSOs. The Urisids shower peaks on Tuesday with a ZHR of 10 and there’s not long to wait until the next big one, the Quadrantids, in January. More about that shower in the next report. Moon declination goes positive again on Tuesday so visibility windows are increasing all week. Losses are increasing as we move away from perigee, but 144MHz sky noise is low, not reaching 400 kelvin until next Sunday. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

What are the skywatching highlights of January 2020?

What are the skywatching highlights of January 2020?

Episode 85 In this episode of the Observers Notebook podcast, host Tim Robertson talks to the Meteor Section Coordinator, Bob Lunsford about the upcoming Quadrantids meteor shower peaking the evening of January 3-4 2020. Bob gives us a brief history of the Meteor Shower, how and where to observe and details on reporting your observations, and contact information. You can contact Bob at: lunro.imo.usa@cox.net The link for the details on the Quadrantids meteor shower: https://www.amsmeteors.org/meteor-showers/meteor-shower-calendar/#Ursids For the latest information from the ALPO Meteor Section you can visit: http://www.amsmeteors.org/ For more information you can visit the ALPO web site at: www.alpo-astronomy.org/ You can also support this podcast at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ObserversNotebook Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/observersnotebook Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/observers-notebook-the-alpo-podcast/id1199301885?mt=2 I want to thank the Producer of this podcast, Steve Siedentop for his generous support of the Observers Notebook.

December and Christmas stargazing, and a bit about a certain star. (Note: I realised I said the wrong meteor shower name during recording - it should be "Quadrantids" and not the "Ursids", but the peak is still around the 4th January.)

Quadrantid meteors January 3-4, a West Coast-favoring total lunar eclipse, and time to start watching Mars!

Quadrantid meteors January 3-4, a West Coast-favoring total lunar eclipse, and time to start watching Mars!

*NASA looking at missions to a comet and to Saturn’s moon Titan NASA has selected two finalist concepts for a robotic mission planned to launch in the mid-2020s. The agency is considering a comet sample return mission and a drone-like rotorcraft that would explore potential landing sites on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. *Was the star of Bethlehem a real thing? For astronomy the idea of three wise men being guided by a star to a stable in a little town called Bethlehem two thousand years ago raises a number of problems. But let’s for a moment just suppose it really happened -- So, what star were they following? *ET’s not calling Scientists say they’ve detected no alien signals or any evidence of extraterrestrial technology coming from the strange cigar shaped interstellar visitor which speed through our solar system in September and October. The 400 metre long 40 metre wide asteroid designated A/2017 U1 and named Oumuamua the Hawaiian name meaning "messenger" or "scout"— has been the centre of astronomical attention ever since its unexpected detection. *Skywatch January We turn our eyes to the skies and check out the celestial sphere for January on Skywatch with the Quadrantids meteor shower to light up the skies as well as another super moon and total lunar eclipse. For enhanced Show Notes including photos to accompany this episode, visit: http://www.bitesz.com/spacetimeshownotes Subscribe, rate and review SpaceTime at all good podcasting apps…including Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), Google Podcasts, Stitcher, PocketCasts, Podbean, Radio Public, Tunein Radio, google play, Spreaker etc Would you prefer to have access to the special commercial free version of SpaceTime? Help support the show, subscribe at Patreon....and share in the rewards. Details at www.patreon.com/spacetimewithstuartgary Help support SpaceTime : The SpaceTime with Stuart Gary merchandise shop. Get your T-Shirts, Coffee Cups, badges, tote bag + more and help support the show. Check out the range: http://www.cafepress.com/spacetime Thank you. Plus: As a part of the SpaceTime family, you can get a free audio book of your choice, plus 30 days free access from audible.com. Just visit www.audibletrial.com/spacetime or click on the banner link at www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com Email: SpaceTime@bitesz.com Join our mailing list at http://www.bitesz.com/join-our-mailing-list  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/spacetime. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What to look out, and up, for in January. For the beginners and young astronomers this month we take a look at the magnificent winter constellation of Orion with the belt and sword bordered by four magnificent stars. We take a look at a (cosmologically) near term supernova hopeful, a five star multiple star system, and the finest nebula of them all in small telescopes or binoculars. Next we round up the planets that are visible in January: Jupiter rising early to show us some lovely transits of its moons, with Mars Saturn and Venus providing breathtaking views for the night owls. Saturn and Venus give us a rare close conjunction too in January. Next we take a look at the phases of the moon this month and prepare for a conjunction with gas giant planet Jupiter and an occultation with bright star Aldebaran in Taurus. The Quadrantids provide us with a nice meteor shower early in January which can often give us more meteors per hour than any other meteor shower. Comet C2013 US10 Catalina continues to reveal itself to northern hemisphere observers and passes some deep sky objects to add to the excitement. Finally, we end on our deep sky challenge in the constellation of Gemini with a planetary nebula and open clusters to tease out – including the topical Jedi Knight cluster.