The Astronomy Show 28.11.18

The Astronomy Show 28.11.18

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at the latest mission to Mars the InSIGHT probe which safely landed on Mars on Monday evening. The probe will be hoping to explore the interior of the Red Planet and investigate beneath the surface of Mars something that no other robot has been able to do so far.

I will take my regular weekly look at the night sky including checking up on comet Wirtanen which  should be visible in the sky during December, as well as checking on where to find the planets Mars and Venus. The A-Z of constellations has reached  the faint obscure constellation of Telescopium the Telescope, while the Messier marathon is a double act today with M 81 and M 82 the famous pair of galaxies in Ursa Major.

The astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week includes the launch of Mariner 4 which when it reached Mars in 1965 destroyed many peoples view of the red planet, and the discovery in 1967 of the first Pulsar. The Astronomy news includes how would we save Earth from a killer asteroid and the news that the Martian moon Phobos may have been formed from an impact with its home planet. This plus a round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, you can hear the show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com, or hear the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

The Astronomy Show 21.11.18

The Astronomy Show 21.11.18

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at the discovery of a crater under the ice on Greenland. The crater is nearly 20 miles wide and its impact would have had a massive effect on the Earth's climate. It is believed to have been formed between 3 million and 12,000 years ago.

The regular features on the show include a look at what is in the night sky during the next week including identifying that really bright white object in the sky in the East before sunrise. The astronomy news includes details that show that the Earth has been near missed 66 times so far this year by asteroids, Voyager 2 creeps closer to the edge of the solar system and NASA plan to land the 2020 mission to Mars in an ancient lakebed to search for signs of life.

Other regulars include the A-Z of constellations which  is now at Taurus the Bull while the Messier Marathon will look at M 80 in Scorpius. The astronomical scrapbook looks at anniversaries  this week which include a comet discovered in York in 1783, and the first transit of Venus observed in 1639. All this plus the usual round up of what is going on in the astronomical societies in the North of England.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday afternoon between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can hear the show on line at www.drystoneradio.com or catch the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

The Astronomy Show 14.11.18

The Astronomy Show 14.11.18

The Astronomy Show is back, I have survived two weeks cruising off the coast of Norway some of the time we were in the Arctic Circle hunting the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, we were not to be disappointed because there was an incredible Northern Lights display on November 3rd. It was stonking, the best I have seen since 2004, I will explain all in the show tomorrow.

On the show today I will be looking at the end of two important space missions the Kepler Space Telescope which has been hunting for planets orbiting other stars and the Dawn mission which had orbited the dwarf planet Ceres. Both missions were massive successes and achieved incredible results and their ending which was expected by astronomers will still be keenly felt by all who used the information they sent back to Earth.

I will also be looking at what can be seen in the night sky including a recap of the highlights on the autumn sky. There is also news of the discovery of a comet, this is not unusual  comets are always being discovered by astronomers, but what makes this comet special is that it was discovered not by the professionals but by amateur astronomers.. Early indications are that it could become bright in the early morning skies, however the brightness of comets  are notoriously difficult to predict.

There will be the usual regular features including the latest astronomy news including  a strange cloud seen on Mars, Saturn's moon Dione is covered with weird stripes and the Space X 'Starman' and its Tesla Roadster are now beyond Mars. The astronomical Scrapbook looks at anniversaries this week including Tycho's discovery of a comet in 1577, Mariner 9 entered orbit around Mars and John Goodricke starts his astronomical diary. The Messier Marathon has reached M79 a globular cluster in Lepus while the A-Z of constellations is at the barren constellation of Sextans the Sextant. All this plus the latest news from the astronomical societies in the North.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday afternoon between 3.00 pm and 5.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can listen live to the Astronomy Show on line at www.drystoneradio.com or hear the show later on the Drystone Radio Podcast.