Monday 23 December 2019

The Astronomy Show 23.12.19

The Astronomy Show 23.12.19

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas here on the Astronomy Show. In this festive edition I will be looking at that most famous of stars The Star of Bethlehem and trying to work out just what the star was?

There will of course be some of the regular features including the latest astronomy news including more exoplanets being discovered, China's far side of the Moon rover has broken another record and sunspots break a space age record.

 I will look at the night sky for the next seven nights and the astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week  includes in 1965 the Barwell Meteorite and  in 1758 Halleys comet was seen as predicted.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Raio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live at www.drystoneradio.com you can hear the programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast


Monday 16 December 2019

The Astronomy Show 16.12.19

The Astronomy Show 16.12.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at the weather, not for the Uk or even Earth but a weather report from Mars. With the rovers and orbiters around the Red Planet scientists are better able to forecast the weather on Mars and highlight issues that future explorers will face when they go to Mars.

I will look at the night sky for the next seven nights, I will also take a closer look at two of the fainter but important constellations because of their variable stars, namely Cepheus and Cetus. On the 22nd it will be the winter solstice when the Sun will be at its lowest point in the sky during the year,

The other regular features include the latest astronomy news stories including the Juno mission at Jupiter which has seen a huge new storm but only after a death dodging maneuver. The Geminid meteor shower's parent debris trail has been spotted for the first time. The Geminids are associated  with an asteroid rather than a comet. There will also be a cosmic ray update.

The astronomical scrapbook will be looking at events that happened in history this week including in 1958 Project Mercury was announced by NASA, in 1973 the Skylab mission took the famous picture of the solar loop on the Sun and in 1968 Apollo 8 was launched. All this plus a round up of  the news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, the show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com the programme can also be heard later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

Monday 9 December 2019

The Astronomy Show 09.12.19

The Astronomy Show 09.12.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at news that NASA is predicting solar cycle 25 which is just starting will be the lowest for 200 years. What will this mean? It could make travelling in space a little safer, but it could also have an affect on Earth. We know that historically when sunspot numbers fall the temperature of the Earth drops. The last time this happened was during the Dalton minimum 200 years ago.

I will look at the night sky for the next seven nights which include the Geminid meteor shower and the Before Yule Moon. I will also look  the constellations Cassiopeia, Triangulum and Aries.

The other regular features include astronomy news with the asteroid Hygiea possibly becoming a dwarf planet, planetary waves supercharge Noctilucent Clouds and a planet discovered around a white dwarf, which should not be there!! The astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week include in 1795 the Wold Cottage Meteorite, in 1962 Mariner 2 flew past Venus and  in 1970 Venera 7 landed on Venus. All this plus news from the astronomical socities in the North.

The Astronomy show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or the programme can be heard later on nthe Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 2 December 2019

The Astronomy Show 02.12.19

The Astronomy Show 02.12.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at news that British scientists will be exploring parts of Antarctica looking for iron meteorites which are rare on the Earth but even more difficult to find at the south pole. I will be looking at why this is the case, and how they might find them if they are there.

The regular features include the weekly round up of what we can see in the night sky as well as looking more closely at some of the constellations that we can see at the moment. The latest news stories include Jupiter's Great Red Spot isn't dying and Voyager 2 is passing through the area of space where the solar wind and cosmic rays do battle together. The astronomical scrapbook looks at events that happened this week in history including the discovery of Himalia the sixth largest moon of Jupiter in 1904. All this plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies of the north.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www,drystoneradio.com or you can listen later to the programme on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 18 November 2019

The Astronomy Shoe 18.11.19

The Astronomy Show 18.11.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at news that Ultima Thule which was visited by the New Horizons mission and is the most distant object visited by a space mission has  a new name. The small Kuiper Belt object will now be called Arrokoth.

I will take a look at the night sky not just for the next 7 nights, there will be a very close conjuction of the planets of Jupiter and Venus later this week. I will also take a look at  what we can see during the rest of autumn.

The latest news stories this week include signs of the new solar cycle 25 has started and that a possible new dwarf planet in the solar system has been identified.

Other regular features include the astronomical scrapbook looking at events that happened this week in history include in 1783 the discovery of a comet by Edward Piggot in York and the first transit of Venus being observed in 1639. All this plus news from the astronomical societies of the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The programme can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com, the astronomy show can also be heard on the Drystone Radio podcast.

The next Astronomy Show will be on Monday 2nd December.


Monday 28 October 2019

The Astronomy Show 28.10.19

The Astronomy Show 28.10.19

The Astronomy Show is back following  my latest break to present some lectures in Iceland and to observe the Northern Lights, I have been very lucky so far, over the last 2 years I have been on 4 northern light cruises and seen the northern lights 4 times!!!

However back to the hear and now and the show today, I will be looking at news that the Antartic ozone hole is the smallest on record and I will be looking at what this means.

There will the regular features including the night sky not only for the next 7 nights but also for the night sky during this autumn including a rather rare day time event with a transit of Mercury occuring on November 11th. The latest astronomy news includes details of 20 new moons being discovered around Saturn and that Venus may not have been as Earth like as scientists thought.

The astronomical scrapbook looking at events that happened this week in history includes in 840 Louis of Bavaria dying of fright during an eclipse, 1935 the Mills Observatory opened in Dundee and in 1938 Orson Wells read the War of the Worlds on American radio and convinced Americans that the Martian were invading. This plus news from the astronomical societies of the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line  at www.drystoneradio.com or you can hear the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

The next Astronomy Show will be on Monday 18th November 2019.

_

Monday 23 September 2019

The Astronomy Show 23.09.19

The Astronomy Show 23.09.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at what happened to the Indian moon mission Chandrayaan 2, contact was lost just before it was due to land on the Moon, the orbiter part of the mission is still working normally.

In addition to the normal weekly round up of the night sky and with Autumn now approaching this is a good time to take a look at the constellations that can be found in the night sky during autumn season.

The regular feartures include astronomy news stories including a possible interstellar comet entering the solar system, the latest news from the Yutu 2 Chinese rover on the Moon and why Jupiter's moon Io might not have a magma ocean after all. The astronomical scrapbook looking at events that happened this week include in 1846 the discovery of Nepture, the loss of the Mars Climate Explorer in 1999 and Edward Piggot discovered the variable star R Scutum in 1795. All this plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies  of the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The programme can be heard on line at www.drystoneradio.com the show can also be heard later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

The next Astronomy Show will be on Monday 28th October


Monday 2 September 2019

The Astronomy Show 02.09.19

The Astronomy Show 02.09.19

As we enter September the nights become longer and astronomers start to get ready for the new observing season. On the Astronomy Show tonight I will be looking towards the Septemebr skies when we experience the change over from summer to autumn skies. In addition the longer nights mean that Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis have returned to the northern hemisphere.

I will be looking at news that Io the the closest of the four Galilean moons of Jupiter and often referrd to as the pizza planet is the most volcanic object in the solar system. In fact Io is superactive when it comes to volcanoes but a question being asked by astronomers is this. Do the volcanoes run like clockwork? The Astronomy Show will take a look.

The regular review of the astronomy news stories includes, the latest pictures from China's Chang'e 4 on the far side of the Moon, both the European Space Agency and Russia are experiencing problems with their parachute systems for landing space craft on Mars. Astronomers have discovered a second planet orbiting beta Pictoris and its huge.

The astronomical scrapbook which looks at dates in history this week includes in 1752 the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, in 1976 Viking 2 landed on Mars and in 1977 Voyager 1 was launched. There will be the regular round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Wednesday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, you can her the show live on line at drystoneradio.com or listen later on the Drystone Radio podcast.







Monday 19 August 2019

The Astronomy Show 19.08.19

The Astronomy Show 19.08.19

The Astronomy Show is back! Following my latest break presenting astronomy lectures on a cruise ship. It was very hot in the Mediterranean but we had some great fun with  large numbers of peole attending the talks plus some stargazing evenings. The sky was so clear. On one occassion 200 people saw the Milky Way very clearly. It was amazing.

However back to the here and now, the Astronomy Show tonight will be looking at a story that NASA fed Apollo 11 moon rocks to cockroaches and then things became even more weirder. I will be finding out what happened.

I will take another extensive look at the night sky not just for the next seven nights but for the rest of the summer.  Jupiter and Saturn are still visible in the evening sky although from Britain they are seen very low in the sky in the south. If you are up early in the morning you can just catch a glimpse of Mercury in the south east about an hour before the Sun rises.

The Astronomy news round up includes details of thousands of Tardigrades, which are microscopic creatures are now starnded on the Moon following the crash earlier this year of the Israeli Moon mission. Another impact on the Moon was the tiny Chinese orbiter Longjang 2, although this crash was intended, and how Venus turned into hell and how the Earth is next!

The astronomical scrapbook looking at events that happened this week in history include in 1960 the Russian dogs Strelka and Belka are the first ceatures sent into space and safely returned, in 1977 Voyager 2 was launched and in 2006 Pluto became a dwarf planet. There will also be the usual round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com  or you can listen to the programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

Monday 15 July 2019

The Astronomy Show 15.07.19

The Astronomy Show 15.07.19

On the Astronomy Show today there will be a big focus on the Moon for the reason that we are very close to the 50th anniversary of the Apoll 11 landing with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the Moon. With this in mind our lead story today is about the Moon with news that India is planning to lauch their second mission to the Moon, this is the Chandrayaan 2 mission and if successful India will become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the Moon.

There will be the regular round up of what is happening in the night sky this week, the Moon attracts the atention again because there will be a partial eclipse of the Moon on the 16th July, this will be visible from Britain. The giant planets Jupiter and Saturn can still be seen as soon as it becomes dark.

The usual round up of astronomy news includes details of  the launch of the Spektr-RG Russian X Ray telescope, and the Japanese Hayabusa 2 mission which has grabbed  a second sample from the Ryugu asteroid. The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries this week is dominated by the Apollo 11 Moon landing but other events were happening including in 1994 comet Shoemaker Levy 9 started to crash into Jupiter. All this plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show, every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9. 00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 8 July 2019

The Astronomy Show 08.07.19

The Astronomy Show 08.07.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at news that the Euro Mars Lander suffered damamge during testing when its parachute failed to deploy properly. Mars has been the planet where around half the missions have failed and having a parachute system not working correctly is a recipe for another disaster, engineers will be checking to see what happened.

I will be taking my usual look at what can be seen in the night sky during the next 7  nights including details of how to find Saturn which is now at its best and news that the first sunspots of the next cycle have been seen.

The astronomy news includes details that scientisit have found that mould found on the International Space Station is very hard to kill in space and another mysterious deep space flash has been observed, this time its host galaxy has been traced.

The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries that occured this week include in 1979 Voyager 2 reached Jupiter, Telstar was launched in 1962 and in 1965 Mariner 4 reached Mars, there will also be the usual round up of news and events from the astronomical societies of the north of England.

The Astronomy show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm 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 Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 1 July 2019

The Astronomy Show 01.07.19

The Astronomy Show 01.07.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at news that NASA is planning to send a drone to exlpore Titan the largest moon of Saturn. Apart from  Earth, Titan is the only other body in the solar system that has flowing liquid on its surface, but rather than water it is Methane as it is  much too cold on Titan for water.

I will take a look not just at the night sky this week, but what we might expect to see during the summer momths as the summer constellations can be seen at their best during July. On July 4th the Earth is at its farthest point from the Sun during its yearly orbit. I will be looking at why when the Earth is furthest from the Sun we have summer in Britain.

The other regular features include news that Mars may have escaped life threatening impacts early on and a mysterious extragalactic flash has been pinpointed for the 2nd time. The astronomical scrapbook looks at events that happened this week in history including in 2004 the Cassini probe reaching Saturn and the Crab Nebula was first seen in 1054. There will also be the usual round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 Fm The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 24 June 2019

The Astronomy Show 24.06.19

The Astronomy Show 24.06.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at evidence that Mars has been hit by a meteorite within the past year causing a crater around 50 feet (15m) across. It gives more evidence of just how dangerous asteroids can be.

The will be the usual look at the night sky during the next 7 nights, although the skies are still bright at this time of the year , it is still the Noctulucent clouds that are still attratcing all the attention, there have been some terrific displays. Also we will be looking at the lack of sunspots on the Sun which of course would be expected during solar minimum. Could this year be a record breaker?

The other regular features include news that astronomers have been seeing super flares on stars  in our galaxy, that are similiar to our own Sun. Could our own Sun produce such super flares and what would this mean? There appears to be cotton candy clouds in the atmopshere of Mars and there is a mysterious glow which is warming the rings around Uranus.

The astronomy scrapbook which looks at events that happened this week in history include the so called Yorkshire eclipse of the Sun on June 29th 1927 and the Tunguska event of June 30th 1908. There will also be the round up of news from the astronomical societies of the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5FM, the show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 17 June 2019

The Astronomy Show 17.06.19

The Astronomy Show 17.06.19

The Astronomy Show returns today after another break, I have been away on a cruise to the Baltic presenting astronomy talks. I also had the chance to visit the Helsinki Observatory which is well worth a visit if you are ever in Finland.

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at evidence that not only do we have meteorites from the Moon and Mars on the Earth but new evidence suggests that some rare meteorites on Earth may well have come from the asteroid Vesta.

There will be the regular round up of what is happening in the night sky over the next seven nights, however to make up for the lack of long periods of night time we have been experiencing some fantastic Noctulucent Cloud displays. There is a day time meteor shower on at the moment which can only be studied by radio or radar but astronomers are trying to discover if the Tunguska event in 1908 was part of this shower.

The astronomy news this week includes details that the Spitzer space telescope will be shutting down next year, there appears to be a weird galaxy creeping up on our Milky Way Galaxy and the asteroid 2006 QV89 has a 1- in 7,000 chance of hitting the Earth later this year.

There will also be extra news stories regarding the Moon including a weird anomaly at the south pole which could be the site of of a metal asteroid and why is the Moon flashing at us? Could it be due to Transient Lunar Phenomena?

The Astronomical Scrapbook will be looking at events that happened this week  including in 1800 the birth of the the future Earl of Rosse, in 1955 the longest solar eclipse of the 20th century and in 1978 Charon the largest moon of Plut was discovered. There will also be the usual round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 20 May 2019

The Astronomy show 20.05.19

The Astronomy Show 20.05.19

On the Astronomy show today I will be looking at the question 'when will we see another bright comet'. There are always many comets that can be observed, but these usually require reasonable sized telescopes to see them. Many of these can be really important to astronomers for a variety of  different reasons. However to many people the idea of a comet is a spectacular object with a magnificent tail stretching across the sky. When will the next one appear?

There will be the regular round up of the night sky for the next seven nights with a focus on the constellation of Bootes with its bright star Arcturus dominating the late spring sky.

I will be taking a look at a number of news stories this week that feature the Moon, including the Chinese Chang'e 4 experiencing its 4th night on the Moon, the crash site of the Israeli Beresheet lander has been identified and the news that the Moon is shrinking!

The regular astronomy news section includes a giant hole in the Martian atmosphere is venting all its water into space, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has passed its 60,000 orbit of the Red Planet and I will take a look at where the pioneer and voyager space craft are now.

The astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries in history this week includes in 1543 the death of Copernicus, the bright nova in Pictor in 1925 and the first predicted eclipse of the Sun in 585 BCE. There will also be the round up of news from astronomical societies across the north of England.

The Messier marathon will end this week, I know that there are 110 objects listed but Messier only listed officially 103 an open cluster in Cassiopeia, the other 7 have been added in more recent times and it is uncertain if they were seen by Messier.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast.





Monday 6 May 2019

The Astronomy show 06.05.19

The Astronomy Show 06.05.19

On the Astronomy show today I will be looking at the life of Jerrie Cobb the record breaking pilot and advocate for female spaceflight who has died recently at the age of 88. She was the first woman to pass all the same pre flight tests as NASA's seven Mercury astronauts.

There will be the usual look at the night sky for the next seven nights including locating the North Star at the time that the great pyramids were built and how the light from the star Arcturus opened a great exposition in Chicago in 1933. The other regular features include the astronomy news with details that an asteroid called Apophis will near miss the Earth on April Friday 13th 2029 by just 19,000 miles. The point about Apophis is that it is around 1100 feet or 340 metres across. News is coming from China that they hope to build a moon base at the south pole of the Moon within the next ten years.

The astronomical scrapbook looking at events that happened this week in history features David Fabricius who died in 1617 and was the first person to observe a variable star, omicron Ceti or as it is sometimes known as Mira and in 1861 John Tebbutt the Australasian astronomer  discovered the great comet which would be seen by Queen Victoria using a telescope that was made by Thomas Cooke of York. The Messier marathon has reached M102 in Draco the Spindle wheel Galaxy. This plus the round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or listen to the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.



Monday 29 April 2019

The Astronomy Show 29.04.19

The Astronomy Show 29.04.19

The Astronomy Show is back, the last three weeks have involved meeting cousins from Australia  and presenting astronomy lectures, however I am back for our weekly stroll along the northern spiral arm of the galaxy.

On the Astronomy show today I will be looking at the latest news from NASA with the sobering headline 'How to tell if an asteroid is going to kill you' . Scientist are really worried that enough is  being done to intercept any incoming asteroid. The Earth has been hit in the past and it will be hit again in the future.

The other regular features include a look at the night sky for the next 7 nights plus a look at the constellations that can be seen during the spring months. The latest astronomy news includes Mars Quakes being detected by the INSIGHT probe on Mars, it is predicted that the current solar sunspot minimum will be long and deep and news that a communications satellite has failed and is now a threat to other satellites.

The astronomical scrapbook looks at events that happened this week in history including the supernova in 1006 in the constellation of Lupus the Wolf, in 1949 Gerard Kuiper discovered the moon Nereid around Neptune plus in 1822 the first Australian observatory at Paramatta was opened. The Messier marathon has reached M101 a spiral galaxy in Ursa Major . There will also be the round up of news from astronomical societies across the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to the show later on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Sunday 31 March 2019

The Astronomy Show 01.04.19

The Astronomy Show 01.04.19

On the Astronomy Show tomorrow I will be looking at a new idea that is changing out view of water on the Red Planet. Astronomers had published work where they believe that Mars had big rivers for millions of years and this was long after most of its atmosphere had disappeared.

I will take a good look at the spring skies that we can see over the next few weeks and of course there will be the usual look at the night sky for the next 7 nights with a close look at the Plough which at this time of year is overhead. I will also be looking at reports that people might be able to sense magnetic storms.

Other astronomy news stories include details of tiny moons found in the ring system around Saturn. The Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a multi tailed active asteroid and the birth of a Great Dark Spot on Neptune. The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries this week include in 1960 the launch of the first weather satellite and  Voyager 1 reached Jupiter in 1979. The Messier marathon is another double helping this week with M 99 and M 100 both galaxies in Coma Berenices. All this plus a round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

This will be my last Astronomy show for a couple of weeks I will be back with the next Astronomy Show on Monday 22nd April.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9. 00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen to programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast.



Interested in Astronomy Talks then take a look at my web site https://www.astrognome.co.uk/




Monday 25 March 2019

The Astronomy Show 25.03.19

The Astronomy Show 25.03.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at astronomical events that rocked England, historically events such as the appearance of a comet or an eclipse of the Sun which  were used by astrologers to prevents events of doom and disaster.

I will be taking a look at the night sky over the  next 7 nights and with the clocks going forward next weekend this is the last week to see many of the winter constellations. The largest planet in the solar system Jupiter is still dominating the morning skies. I will also be looking at research that indicates that at the spring and autumn equinox there is the best chance to see aurora due to cracks in the Earth's magnetic field.

The other regular features include news that NASA may send a smallsat mission to the asteroid Pallas and that the Israeli moon lander will touch down close to Apollo landing sites. The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries this week includes in 1811 the discovery of the Great comet and in 1991 George Alcock the famed British comet and nova hunter found his last nova. The Messier marathon has reached M98 in Coma Berenices. There will also be the usual round up of what is happening in the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can hear the Astronomy Show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or listen to the programme later on the Drystone podcast.


Monday 18 March 2019

The Astronomy Show 18.03.19

The Astronomy Show 18.03.19

On the Astronomy Show tonight news from NASA that a meteor exploded around 15 miles above the Bering Sea off the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula on December 18th 2018.  The explosion which had as much energy as 10 Hiroshima bombs was caused by an object only around half the size of the Chelyabinsk meteor in February 2013 which also air burst and injured around 1,000 people with flying glass due to the sonic booms that shattered windows. By good fortune this one exploded over the sea. This is the second large object in just 5 years. Is this normal or are there more lumps of rock hitting the Earth than in the past?

The regular features include the astronomy news with stories including Cosmic Ray Neutrons have been detected on high flying aeroplanes which poses the question how safe is to fly at these high altitudes for long periods. There is evidence that a major solar storm hit the Earth more than 2,000 years ago and a dust ring has been discovered in the planet Mercury's orbit.

I will be looking at what we can see in the night sky during the next 7 nights plus news that sometimes it is possible to see the planet Uranus without binoculars and how the constellation of Cancer used to be used by astronomers as an ancient weather forecasting guide.The constellation profile this week will be Canis Minor the Lesser Dog.

 The Astronomical Scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week includes the first space walk in 1965, the solar eclipse of 1140 AD which astrologers said forecast the capture of King Stephen and Edward Pigott discovered M 64 the Black Eye Galaxy in 1779. The Messier marathon is now at M 97 the Owl Nebula in Ursa Major and there will be the round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm 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 Drystone Radio Podcast.


https://www.astrognome.co.uk/

Sunday 10 March 2019

The Astronomy Show 11.03.19

The Astronomy Show 11.03.19

On the Astronomy show tomorrow night (Monday 11th March) I will be looking at news that astronomers now think the K class stars might be ones that could support planets with life. K class stars are cooler than the Sun but brighter than some of the faintest stars.

I will be looking at the night sky for the next 7 nights and there will be a new feature in this part of the show which I will be calling the Constellation Profile. I will take a close look at one of the constellations that can be seen in the sky this week.This week I will be looking at Gemini its stars and nebula and its history and myths.

The other regular features include the latest astronomy news stories including news that the first 'mole ' on Mars has hits hard objects beneath the surface of the red planet and that Ceres could have had near surface water for millions of years. There could also be another problem with the Hubble Space Telescope. The astronomical scrapbook which looks at events that happened this week includes the fall of the Middlesbrough Meteorite in 1881 and the discovery of Uranus in 1781. The Messier marathon is another double helping with the galaxies M 95 and M 96 in Leo. This plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy show live every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can also hear the programme live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or hear it later on the Drystone Radio podcast.

https://www.astrognome.co.uk/

http://www.stardomeplanetarium.net




Sunday 3 March 2019

The Astronomy Show 04.03.19

The Astronomy Show 04.03.19

The Astronomy Show returns tomorrow evening (Monday 4th March) following  my cruise to Norway and the  Arctic Circle in search of the Northern Lights, and yes we saw a wonderful display of the Northern Lights which were seen by everyone on the ship.

On the Astronomy Show this week I will be looking news that a space craft launched by the Russians in 1972 to study the planet Venus and which failed to leave Earth orbit could re enter the Earth's atmosphere later this year. It was designed to survive the harsh conditions of Venus so much of the 500 kg of the craft could survive re entry.

I will take a look at  the night sky over the next 7 nights as well as a review of sunspot activity on our local star the Sun. During February there were no sun spots seen at all. The astronomy news will look at stories including astronomers have observed a solar flare from a star in the Orion nebula that was 10 billion times stronger than any flare from our Sun! The Japanese space craft Hyabusa 2 has managed to snag the asteroid Ryugu and astronomers believe that planet 9 could be discovered within the next 10 years.

The astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week in history includes in 1792 the birth of John Herschel, in 1807 the birth of the telescope maker Thomas Cooke and in 1977 rings were discovered around the planet Uranus. The Messier marathon has reached M 94 in Canes Venatici. There will also be the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen later to the Astronomy Show on the Drystone Radio podcast.



www.stardomeplanetarium.net

www.astrognome.co.uk

Monday 11 February 2019

The Astronomy Show 11.02.19

The Astronomy Show 11.02.19

On the Astronomy Show today I will be looking at news that astronomers have discovered a rare type of asteroid in the solar system and it only takes 165 days to orbit the Sun, it has the shortest 'year' of any recorded asteroid.

There will be all the regular topics including what is happening in the night sky during the next few days. There will be more news stories including news that the interstellar object Oumuamua might be a monstrous corpse of comet dust, Japan will land a probe on an asteroid later this month and we now know when the Andromeda galaxy will crash into the Milky Way, but don't worry it won't happen for another 4.5 billion years.

The A-Z of constellations finishes today with the 88th and last constellation, Vulpecula the Fox while the Messier marathon has reached M 93 an open cluster in Puppis the Poop. The astronomical scrapbook looks at astronomical anniversaries this week including the channel dash by German Battle cruisers in 1942, and in the year 538 there is the first recorded reference to an eclipse of the Sun being seen from Britain. All this plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

After today I will be taking a  break for a couple of weeks I will be presenting lectures on a cruise ship in the arctic looking for the Northern Lights. The Astronomy Show will however be back on Monday 4th March.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm, only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. You can hear the show live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or  the programme  can be heard later on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Monday 4 February 2019

The Astronomy Show 04.02.19

The Astronomy Show 04.02.19

On the Astronomy Show tonight I will be looking at news that the Earth's magnetic field might be  flipping over soon. There are reports that scientists are noticing that the north magnetic pole is so out of whack that this could be a sign that the magnetic pole might soon flip over.

There will be the regular look at what can be seen in the sky at the moment, there seems to have been some activity in the solar wind hitting the Earth causing aurora to be seen in the arctic. If the activity is strong enough it may even be seen from northern Britain. The winter constellations are on still on view and the morning sky is still the place to look for planets. In the astronomy news the Chinese rover and lander have survived their first night on the freezing cold far side of the Moon, and the solar Parker probe has completed its first journey around the Sun.

The Messier marathon has reached M92 in Hercules a globular cluster which is often overlooked in favour of M13. The AZ of constellations is at Volans the Flying Fish a  southern hemisphere constellation but with no bright stars. The astronomical scrapbook looking at anniversaries this week includes the Mariner 10 flyby of Venus and the birth of William Huggins in 1824 one of the pioneers of spectroscopy. This plus a round up of what is happening in the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM, you can hear the show live on line at  www.drystoneradio.com or catch the programme later on the Drystone Radio podcast.




Monday 28 January 2019

The Astronomy Show 28.01.19

The Astronomy Show 28.01.19

On the Astronomy Show tonight I will be looking at news that when it first formed planet Earth my have not only been struck by an object which caused the Moon to form but the impact may be the reason that life exist on our planet today.

There will be the regular review of what can be seen in the night sky during the next week including a very nice coming together in the morning sky of the planets Jupiter and Venus. The latest astronomy news features details that the Apollo astronauts may have found the oldest Earth rock we know of on the Moon, there will be details of the latest images released by NASA of the asteroid Ultima Thule by the New Horizons probe and a bitter sweet 15th anniversary of the Mars rover Opportunity but it appears to have succumbed to the massive Martian dust storm last year.

Other regular features  include the A-Z of constellations which has reached Virgo the Virgin, while the Messier Marathon is at one of the missing Messier objects, M91 it cannot be found! The astronomical scrapbook will be looking at astronomical anniversaries this week includes the death of Johann Hevelius in 1687, the launch of the first successful American satellite Explorer 1 in 1958 and the discovery of comet Hyukate in 1996. This plus the round up of news from the astronomical societies in the North of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen later on the Drystone Radio podcast.



Monday 21 January 2019

The Astronomy Show 21.01.19

The Astronomy Show 21.01.19

On the Astronomy Show tonight I will be talking a look back at the Lunar Eclipse this morning, it was a great sight although we did have a little bit of haze in the sky the Moon did become a  wonderful red colour.

There is disturbing news that suggests that the Earth might be in the middle of a giant asteroid spike a billion year survey reveals, there will be more details on the show.

The regular features include a look at the sky for the next 7 nights  plus a round up of the latest astronomy news including news that China's Moon plants have died and that the rings of Saturn may be younger than the dinosaurs.. There will be the A-Z of constellations which tonight has reached Vela the Sails once part of Argo Navis the largest constellation and the ship that Jason and the Argonauts travelled on while searching for the golden fleece. The Messier Marathon has another double edition today as we stay in Virgo and look at the galaxies M89 and M90.

The astronomical scrapbook which looks at anniversaries this week will include in 1892 the death of John Couch Adams co discoverer of Neptune, and in 1967 the Apollo fire which caused the death of the 3 Apollo astronauts. There will also be the round up of the latest news from the astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone radio 103.5 FM, the show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you can listen later to the show on the Drystone Radio Podcast.




Monday 14 January 2019

The Astronomy Show 14.01.19

The Astronomy Show 14.01.19

We have moved! The Astronomy Show can now be heard live at its new and regular time slot of Monday evenings between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm.

On the show today I will be looking at how astronomers believe that objects like the interstellar visitor Oumuamua probably crash into the Sun every 30 years or so and some pass within the orbit of Mercury. It is being suggested that these kind of objects enter the solar system somewhat regularly.

There will be the regular features which include looking at what is happening in the night sky over the next few nights including an eclipse of the Moon during the early morning of January 21st. I will take a close look at the winter sky which we will be focusing on during the next few weeks. There will be a round up of the latest astronomy news including the asteroid 6478 Gault which lies within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter may have turned into a comet. The Hubble Space Telescope has developed a problem and astronomers have discovered 13 mysterious Fast Radio Bursts.

The A-Z of constellations has now reached Ursa Minor the Lesser Bear while the Messier Marathon is now at Messier 88 in Coma Berenices. The astronomical scrapbook which  looks at anniversaries this week in history includes in 2005 the Huygens probe landed on Titan, while in 800 AD there was an eclipse of the Moon. There will also be a new and extended list of astronomical societies in the north of England.

The Astronomy Show every Monday evening between 7.00 pm and 9.00 pm only on Drystone Radio 103.5 FM. The show can be heard live on line at www.drystoneradio.com or you  can be listen later to the Astronomy Show on the Drystone Radio podcast.


Wednesday 9 January 2019

The Astronomy Show 09.01.19

The Astronomy Show 09.01.19

The new year brings all change on the Astronomy Show as this will be my last afternoon show, but its not the end of the Astronomy Show because I will be moving to a new evening slot and starting on Monday 14th January the Astronomy Show can be heard live from 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm.

However back to the here and now on the show today I will be looking at the incredible events  that happened over the festive period with the New Horizons mission reaching Ultima Thule and the Chinese Chang'e 4 craft landing successfully on the far side of the Moon.

The other regular features include a review of the night sky not only for the next few days but also the month ahead including a quick look at the eclipse of the Moon that will occur on the morning of January 21st, there will be a much more detailed look on the eclipse on the show on Monday 14th.

There will be the latest astronomy news, including the best space stories of 2018,  the astronomical scrapbook will be looking at astronomical  anniversaries that happened this week, including in 1848 the death of Caroline Herschel and  the discovery of the great daylight comet in 1910. The A-Z of constellations has reached Ursa Major the Great Bear and the Messier marathon is now at M87 in Virgo. There will also be the usual round up of news from astronomical societies in the north of England.

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