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.