The Astronomy Show 26.07.17

The Astronomy Show 26.07.17

It's back! after two weeks of R/R the Astronomy Show returns today from Starbase 82 on Drystone radio.

Today I will be checking on a massive CME or flare from the Sun which occurred on July 23rd,  luckily for us the flare was on the far side of the Sun so it posed no threat to the Earth, the target for this flare appears to be the planet Mars. It appears that there will be another near miss for the Earth, astronomers are watching an asteroid that could come very close to us in October.

I will take a look at what can be seen in the sky during the summer months and in particular take a closer look at the next few days .

All the regular features will be on the show with lots of news including quite a few stories regarding meteorites, the A-Z of constellations continues with Gemini the Twins, the Messier Marathon is now at M 36 which heralds a trio of messier objects in the constellation of Auriga, the astronomical scrapbook looks at events in history this week including the first space walk by a woman astronaut. There will be the regular look at what is happening with the northern astronomical societies.

The Astronomy Show only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, you can hear the show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or listen to the show later on the podcast.

The Astronomy Show 05.07.17

The Astronomy Show 05.07.17

On the Astronomy Show today I will be marking 20 years of NASA continually exploring Mars the red planet. The first successful mission Mariner 4 flew past Mars in 1965 and shattered peoples ideas of how the planet looked. Mars wasn't covered in Tundra it looked more like the Moon. In 1997 NASA landed the Mars Pathfinder on Mars and since then Mars has been constantly monitored by scientists.

As this  is the first show in July I will be looking at what the night sky has in store for us this coming summer. The regular features include the A-Z of constellations which today looks at the rather obscure constellation of Fornax the Furnace to counter this the Messier Marathon I visit M35 a wonderful open cluster in Gemini.

I will also be looking at some detective work by astronomers who have discovered what 'Star' was aligned with the Moon in the poem 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' which was written by Lord Byron in Italy in 1817. I will be looking at just what this star was.

There will be the latest astronomy news, the astronomical scrapbook will take its regular look at what happened this week in history including the discovery of the supernova in 1054 that would  form the Crab Nebula. This plus the usual round up of what is happening in the astronomy societies in the north this week.

I will be taking a break for some well earned R/R for the next two weeks. There will be no Astronomy Show on July 12th or July 19th but be advised that I will be back on July 26th.

The Astronomy Show only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM every Wednesday between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm. The programme is also available on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the programme later on the podcast.