The Astronomy Show 31.05.17

The Astronomy Show 31.05.17

Today on the Astronomy Show I will be looking at the latest information from the Juno probe which is at Jupiter and sending back information that has amazed scientists and is changing our views on the giant planet. This plus the findings of the Schiaparelli probe which crashed onto Mars last year, the findings point to a catalogue of failings in planning.  

We are about to enter the Noctillucent Cloud observing season, so this is a good time to explain what these strange night clouds are. In addition there will be a round up of what can be seen in the night sky this week.

The A-Z of constellations will look at the small summer constellation of Delphinus  the Dolphin, while the Messier Marathon today takes us to M 30 in Capricorn. I will dip into the astronomical scrapbook and find out what happened in astronomy this week in the past,plus the latest astronomy news, together with  a round up of what is happening in the  northern astronomical societies.

The Astronomy Show, every Wednesday afternoon form 3 pm to 5 pm on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, you can also hear the show on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can hear the show on the podcast.

The Astronomy Show 24.05.17

The Astronomy Show 24.05.17

Today on the Astronomy Show I  will be looking at the North Star I mention it each week but I thought it was a good idea to take a closer look at this most important star.

It is tough looking at the sky this time of year because it is very late before it becomes dark and that period of darkness will continue to get shorter over the next few weeks, but there is still lots to see as I will explain on the show.

The news stories this week include details of the survey of the dusty ring surrounding the star Fomalhaut, with so many new planets being found other stars astronomers are now trying to figure out  how to classify them, and most of the dwarf planets seem to have moons!

A supernova bright enough to be seen in reasonable size telescopes has been discovered in the past few days, bright supernova are rare I will have the details.

The A-Z of the constellations and the Messier Marathon both look at the same constellation, this week its  Cygnus and M 29. The astronomical scrapbook looks at anniversaries including the death of Nicholas Copernicus in 1543. There will also be the weekly review of what astronomical societies in the north are doing. This plus a little bit of my music I like.

The Astronomy Show with Martin Lunn on Drystone Radio on 103.5 FM listen on line at www.drystoneradio.com or hear the show on the podcast.

The Astronomy Show 10.05.17

The Astronomy Show 10.05.17

The Astronomy Show this week will be looking at the X-37B space plane mission. It seems to have been a 2 year mission clouded in secrecy, the conspiracy theories are going into overdrive. However the official line is that the X-37B was used to test new systems for the future. With that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to look at future missions to explore the solar system.

The A-Z of constellations has reached Crater the Cup and the Messier Marathon is now at M 27 the Dumbell nebula. The solar system ramble has reached Pluto and the dwarf planets. There will be the latest astronomical news including the Martian New Year celebrations that happened on May 5th, or maybe you missed that one!! The astronomical scrapbook will be looking at astronomical events in  history this week, plus the round up of events in astronomical societies in the north.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM listen on line at www.drystoneradio.com or hear the programme on the Drystone Radio podcast.

The Astronomy Show 03.05.17

The Astronomy Show 03.05.17

On the Astronomy Show this week I will be looking at an event which happened about 14,500 years ago when the last ice age finished and ask, Did a comet hit the Earth and push the humans into a technological overdrive? If you want to find out more listen to the show today.

As this is the first show of the month I will be taking a look at the night sky for May. The night sky this week is still dominated by the planet Jupiter, which is the bright white spot in the evening sky. Jupiter will be around for the rest of spring.

The regular features include the astronomy news with the latest from Cassini at Saturn, the A-Z of constellations continues with Corvus the Crow. The Messier Marathon is now at M 26 in Scutum. The ramble through the solar system has now reached  Neptune the most distant planet from the Sun. There will also be the astronomical scrapbook plus the latest news from the northern astronomical societies.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday afternoon between 3.00 pm - 5.00 pm on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, you can also hear the show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or listen to show on the podcast via the Drystone Radio web site.