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ALERT Newsletter

Hi everyone,
 
I hope this finds you well, and untouched by the hobgoblin attack of last night.  We had no trick or treaters this year, so you know what that means.  Yes, I have to eat ALL of the candy.  Which is a tough job, but someone has to do it. It is my civic duty.  I’m “taking one for the team”,
 
As we enter November, we also enter the Fall tornado season.  The Fall season is often more severe than the Spring Season. 
 
Just as in the Spring, you need to review your plans and procedures and take this time brush up on your skills, check and prepare your equipment
 
What condition are your antennas in?  I found bamboo had grown into my HF antenna, throwing the SWR far off.
 
Does your transmitter still transmit, and your receiver still receive?
 
How long has it been since you charged your handie-talkies?  Don’t trust the “battery indicator”, as it may be for “show” only.
 
If you bought a HT for “SHTF”, have you learned how to use it by getting the appropriate license and learning the skill through regular use?  
 
That’s the only way you can learn what works, doesn’t work, where, why and when, and how to overcome problems that reveal themselves, and what to expect performance and skill wise. 
 
Thinking you will just whip out a radio, make a call “halp, halp” and rescuers will suddenly appear rappelling out of helicopters, might look good in Hollywood’s imagination, but, reality can be a totally different situation 
 
Part of “preparedness” is preparing – learning and practicing skills and equipment.  Don’t let fantasy override reality, or slick advertising with “tactical” labels & 10,000 mile range, or social media bravado.  
 
You want to be so accustomed to using radios that it’s just as normal as using a telephone.  My wife and I are both hams, in fact that how we met, both on the air and at the BARC meetings.  To us “switching to RF” is just as normal as breathing.
 
While the sun is shining you want to take the time to learn and prepare now.  For, if you wait, assuming everything will work when it isn’t, it may be tragically too late.
 
While mentioning radios, does your NOAA Weatheradio have a battery backup? If so, make sure you have fresh batteries and that it still works.  NOAA tests these radios (unless severe weather is expected) every Saturday and Wednesday around 11 AM.
 
If you use a Smartphone, install phone Apps from local broadcast media and make sure your phone Apps are up to date.  
 
Do not rely on social media posts.  Even broadcast media posts, as some social medium algorithms can accidently “bury” a warning in the newsfeed or be very much delayed. For example, I get push notifications from “X”, formerly Twitter, sometimes three days after the event.  On the other hand,  by monitoring it real-time, it can be lightning fast, pun absolutely intended.
 
Also, beware of good meaning “amateur weather experts”, including myself.  Instead trust the REAL experts at our NWS. They have the training, knowledge and expertise, which you can place confidence in.
 
What about “tornado sirens”?  Don’t depend on them, as not all locations have them and you can be in an acoustical shadow even if you are in an area that does have them.
 
If you hear one sounding, find out why. 
 
And, if it is sounding and the sky is crystal clear, don’t ignore it.  There is a reason why they are still sometimes called “air raid” sirens. You might better check and see what’s going on in case someone in Moscow woke up with a migraine and hit the wrong button.
 
“ох дерьмо!  ;-( “ or  “Oh crap!  ;-( ”
 
Hopefully we will have a calm Fall as we look forward toward Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season.
 
Stay safe!
 
 
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Spy & Numbers Stations Decoded
 
(Occasionally I get requests to revisit or repeat a previous article. The following was originally published in the September 2017 Newsletter.)
 
Radio in its various forms has always been a fascinating hobby to me.  My first exposure to radio, other than me having the AM radio blasting music, was listening to my brother, Sonny K4FHX’s ham radio, and the weird sounds emanating from his speaker.  When he got out of the hobby in the early sixties he gave me his equipment. But, I was six years old, and of course I destroyed every piece of that Hallicrafters gear.  All that is left today is the Speed-X straight key, which I still use to this day.
 
My next exposure to radio was with my Uncle Luther’s shortwave radio, listening to the strange squeaks and squawks and some tick-tocking station with a guy saying “thirteen hours forty five minutes Greenwich Mean Time”.  
 
Seeing that I was hooked, my parents gave me a Ross shortwave radio the Christmas of 1972.
 
I would stay up into the wee hour of the night listening, usually with the lights turned off, so my parents wouldn’t worry why I wasn’t asleep, listening to stations all over the country and all over the world.
 
The radio did not have a beat frequency oscillator or BFO, so I was unable to listen to sideband signals.  All I heard were people who sounded like they were gargling with wet socks.
 
One of the mysteries of those days was something called “Spy and Numbers” stations. 
 
These would come on at irregular intervals up and down the band, but, usually just below the 40 meter band.  They were always in AM, and though I have heard them in English and German, the strongest were in Spanish, usually female, with a strange regularly spaced clacking sound in the background.
 
The typical format was as follows:
 
Either at the top or the bottom of the hour after about 20 minutes of a carrier with that strange clacking sound, the call would begin something like this:
 
“Attencion, attencion…..quatro cinco uno…..quatro cinco uno…..quarto cinco uno…
uno ocho sies ocho quatro ocho tres uno tres……repeata….. uno ocho sies ocho quatro ocho tres uno tres…..fine…fine…” 
 
And then the signal would disappear as mysteriously as it had appeared.
 
What were these signals?
 
The leading theory was that they originated in Cuba and were being sent to covert operatives in the US.  But, nothing could ever be proved.  
 
Until now.
 
Recently Dateline NBC had the story of an ex-Soviet spy who defected and fell off the radar and for decades lived and raised a family using an assumed identity.  In the story he said he received his instructions “from numbers given in Spanish on a shortwave radio from Cuba”.  
 
Mystery solved.  But, how did it work?
 
The following is what I was told by a gentleman, now deceased who was in the Air Force OSI – Office Of Special Investigations.  I feel safe describing this because many years have passed and technology has progressed to where things are delivered via “other means”.
 
The code was an unbreakable code.  
 
To use it you simply needed two people with two identical books, with the same publisher and edition.  Which book didn’t matter really.  It could be Macbeth, The Gospel of Luke, The ALERT Newsletter, etc. 
They just had to have the same page number, paragraph and word location.
 
The first three numbers given after the “Attencion” was the operative’s number.
 
The long sequence of numbers told where to look in the book. 
 
“uno ocho sies ocho quatro ocho tres uno tres” or in English “106040313”
 
Which mean Page 106, Paragraph 04, Line 03, Word 13
 
They would simply write down the numbers and look them up in the book.  
 
But, which book?  That’s what made it unbreakable.  Only they two parties involved knew which book, and they would change that on a regular basis or as needed.
 
Let’s say Agent 008 (that’s 007’s clutzy partner) needed money.  He might use the Gideon Bible, and choose:
 
“my God will meet all your NEEDS according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” and then 
“For the love of MONEY is the root of all evil…”
 
After deciphering the page, paragraph and locating words 7 & 5 the recipient would that know Agent 008 “needs money”.
 
And so ends the mystery of the Spy & Numbers stations.
 
This is 008 signing out…
 
 
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Mark’s Almanac
 
With the arrival of November we enter our second tornado season.  Alabama and the Southeast are “blessed” by being the only area on Earth having two tornado seasons.  The cause of the second season is the same as the spring season – clashes of cold and warm air masses.  The cold air of winter is invading and trying to push the warmth of the summer back into the sea, which is the same process of springtime.
 
This second season is often more destructive than the spring season.  From 1950 to 2020 there have been 279 November tornadoes in Alabama resulting in 52 fatalities and 1069 injuries.  The third largest tornado outbreak occurred on November 24 – 25 2001 when 36 tornadoes occurred and 21 tornadoes occurred during the outbreak of November 23 – 24 2004.
 
November was Alabama’s leading tornado month from 2001 to 2011 until the dual outbreaks of April 15 and April 27 2011 erased that record.
 
So beware of a warm & muggy November day.  Especially one with a south wind, as something may really be “in the air”.
 
The Hurricane threat greatly diminishes, with hurricane activity occurring mainly in the open Atlantic, threatening the Eastern Seaboard, but usually veering off into sea as cold fronts off the East Coast deflect them.  Hurricanes can still form in the Caribbean, which usually visit the Yucatan, but can enter the Gulf.
 
From 1851 – 2022 there have been 101 Tropical Storms and 50 hurricanes, 6 of which made landfall in the United States.  
 
Some notable November hurricanes are:
 
The 1932 Cuba hurricane, known also as the Hurricane of Santa Cruz del Sur or the 1932 Camagüey Hurricane. Although forming as a tropical depression on October 30, it became the only Category 5 Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in November, and was the deadliest and one of the most intense tropical cyclones in Cuban history. On November 6, the tropical cyclone reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. The storm weakened to Category 4 intensity as it came ashore in Cuba’s Camagüey Province on November 9 with winds of 150 mph.  The storm took 3,033 lives.
 
Hurricane Ida, in 2009 was the strongest land falling tropical cyclone during the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. Ida formed on November 4 in the southwestern Caribbean, and within 24 hours struck the Nicaragua coast with winds of 80 mph.  It weakened significantly over land, although it restrengthened in the Yucatán Channel to peak winds of 105 mph. Ida weakened and became an extratropical cyclone in the northern Gulf of Mexico before spreading across the southeastern United States. The remnants of Ida contributed to the formation of a nor’easter that significantly affected the eastern coast of the United States.
 
1985’s Hurricane Kate was the latest Hurricane in any calendar year to strike the United States.
Kate formed on November, 15 and reached hurricane intensity on November 16, and reached Category 2 intensity three days later. Kate struck the northern coast of Cuba on November 19. Once clear of land, she strengthened quickly, becoming a Category 3 storm and reached its peak intensity of 120 mph. On November 21 Kate came ashore near Mexico Beach, Florida, as Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph.
 
Hurricane Lenny, or Wrong Way Lenny, occurred in 1999. It is the second-strongest November Atlantic hurricane on record, behind the 1932 Cuba hurricane. Lenny formed on November 13 in the western Caribbean Sea and moved retrograde from the West to East passing South of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.  He reached hurricane status south of Jamaica on November 15 and rapidly intensified over the northeastern Caribbean on November 17, attaining peak winds of 155 mph near Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It gradually weakened while moving through the Leeward Islands, eventually dissipating on November 23 over the open Atlantic Ocean.
 
1994’s Hurricane Gordon claimed 1122 lives in Haiti when it passed just west of the country as a tropical storm on November 13, 1994.
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2 – November Tropical Cyclone Breeding Grounds
 
Both the Atlantic and Pacific Hurricane seasons ends November 30.
 
Days rapidly grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 40.9 degrees at the beginning of the month to 34.8 degrees at the month’s end.  Daylight decreases from 10 hours 40 minutes on November 1 to 10 hours 07 minutes on November 30.
 
Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:
 
November 1 Sunrise 7:06 AM   Sunset 5:55 PM
November 15 Sunrise 6:19 AM   Sunset 4:45 PM  –  After Daylight Savings Time Ends
November 31 Sunrise 6:33 AM   Sunset 4:39 PM
 
The blooms of summer have faded, but you may find yourself still sneezing, due to ragweed and mold.
 
Mold is a fall allergy trigger. You may think of mold growing in your basement or bathroom – damp areas in the house – but mold spores also love wet spots outside. Piles of damp leaves are ideal breeding grounds for mold.
 
Oh, and did I mention dust mites? While they are common during the humid summer months, they can get stirred into the air the first time you turn on your heat in the fall. Dust mites can trigger sneezes, wheezes, and runny noses.
 
November welcomes the peak of fall colors.  For Birmingham the peak occurs around November 15, but the date can vary depending on your elevation & latitude.
 
Indian Summer and Squaw Winter continue to battle it out, but the cool or cold weather will eventually win, with the first average frost being on November 11.  
 
The usual fall effects occur in North America with Canada’s Hudson Bay becoming unnavigable due to pack ice & icebergs.  Navigation in the Great Lakes becomes perilous due to storms bringing the “Gales Of November” made famous in the Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”.
 
And, don’t be surprised if you hear ducks overhead & see wedges of Canadian geese heading south for the winter.  And if you see strange birds appearing in your front yard, remember that for 336 species of birds Alabama IS south for the winter.
 
Looking skyward, at the beginning of the month, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Virgo, The Virgin.
 
Mercury, magnitude -1.2, in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.  He will reach “Aphelion” or his furthest distance from the Sun, on November 6.
 
Venus, magnitude –4.5, in Leo The Lion, dominates the predawn morning sky as the brilliant “Morning Star”.  
 
At the first of the month, she rises at 3:23 AM CDT, 3 hours and 40 minutes before the Sun, and reaches an altitude of 40° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at 6:47 AM.
 
On November 9, the Moon will pass 1°, or two lunar diameters, North of Venus.
 
Remembering that time changes back to Standard Time on November the 5th, she rises an hour earlier after the 5th and by the 15th will rise at 2:39 AM CST, 3 hours and 37 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of 38° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:59 AM CST.
 
By the end of the month she will rise around 3:00 AM CST and reach an altitude of 35° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:13 AM CST.
 
Earth and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in Taurus, The Bull..
 
Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude +1.5, in Libra, The Scales, is lost in the glow of the Sun.
 
He will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Conjunction” on November 17.
 
Dwarf Planet Ceres shines at magnitude +8.8 in Libra, The Scales. 
 
Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.9, is in Aries, The Ram.
 
At the beginning of the month, Jupiter becomes visible just before 7:00 PM CDT, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon, and reaches his highest point in the sky at 12:40 AM CDT, 70° above the southern horizon. 
 
He will dominate the evening and early morning skies before fading from view at 6:37 AM CDT, when he drops below 7° over the western horizon.
 
Jupiter will be opposite the sky from the Sun, at “Opposition” just before midnight on November 2.
 
The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter’s cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet.
 
At mid-month he will become visible around 5:00 PM CST, 12° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky around 10:30 PM CST, 69° above the southern horizon and will continue to be observable until around 4:30 AM CST, as he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.
 
By month’s end he will become visible around 4:55 PM CST, 24° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and will then reach its highest point in the sky around 9:30 PM CST, 69° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:30 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.
 
Saturn, magnitude +0.7, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, as an early evening object.  
 
At the beginning of the month, he comes visible around 6:30 PM CDT, 36° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness.
 
He then reaches his highest point in the sky around 8:14 PM CDT, 43° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until just before 1 AM CDT, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.
 
At midmonth he becomes visible around 5:16 PM CST, 41° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 6:1 PM CST, 43° above the southern horizon and will continue to be visible until around 10:47 PM CST, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.
 
At months end he becomes visible around 5:12 PM, CST, at his highest point in the sky, 43° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness.  He will continue to be observable until around 9:50 PM CST, when he sinks below 11° above the south-western horizon.
 
Uranus, magnitude +5.7, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is currently visible as a morning object, becoming visible around 8:18 PM CDT, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. 
 
He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 1:21 AM CDT, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:03 AM CDT, 25° above the western horizon.
 
Uranus will be opposite the sky from the Sun, at “Opposition” at 11:12 PM CST on November 13.
 
By midmonth he will become visible around 6:17 PM CST, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 11:20 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon. 
He will continue to be observable until around 4:23 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
At month’s end he becomes visible around 5:41 PM CST, at an altitude of 26° above the eastern horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky at 10:18 PM CST, 73° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:21 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
Neptune, magnitude 7.7, and his 14 moons and ring, in Pisces, The Fish, becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes at 6:55 PM CDT, at an altitude of 35° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 9:45 PM CDT, 53° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 1:49 CDT AM when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
At midmonth he will become accessible around 5:45 PM CST, 42° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 7:50 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 11:53 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
At the end of the month, he becomes accessible around 5:51 CST PM, 49° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 6:50 PM CST, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 10:53 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.
 
Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.4 in Bootes, The Herdsman.
 
Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) 1, nicknamed MK1 by the discovery team, shines faintly at magnitude +17.2 in Coma Berenices.
 
Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.6 in Cetus the Sea Monster.
 
At least six additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.
 
90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude 19.1 between Hydra and Sextans, The Sextant.
 
50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Scutum, The Shield.
 
90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.8 in Taurus, The Bull.
 
225088 Gonggong, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.
 
2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 in Eridanus, The River.
 
Joining our list of possible Dwarf Planets is 120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea.  Glowing at magnitude 20.7 in Andromeda, The Chained Woman. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers say she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagree based on her size, saying she is too small to have compressed into a fully solid body, to have been resurfaced, or to have collapsed into “hydrostatic equilibrium”, that is to assume spherical shape like a planet.
 
This dark world lies beyond the orbit of Neptune, orbiting 4,164,420,166 miles from the Sun. 
 
Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, Asteroid 2018 AG37, nicknamed “FarFarOut”, which is 12.3 billion miles or 18 hours, 21 minutes and 42 seconds from Earth, , glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx. 
 
The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 46 years, 1 months and 20 days is 15,069,260,971 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 28 minutes and 14 Seconds from Earth as of 1:42 PM, October 25, 2023, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
 
There are 1,308,871 known asteroids as of October 25, 2023, per NASA.  Most of the larger ones look like giant cratered and rubble strewn russet potatoes.
 
5528 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of October 9, 2023 per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/
 
Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 AM November 4.  Make sure to replace your smoke alarm batteries and if you have a battery backup on  your NOAA Weather radio, replace those batteries also.
 
Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur October 5 at 2:37 AM CDT or 8:37 UTC.
 
During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
 
The Southern Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurid Meteor shower is an unusual shower in that it consists of two streams – the Southern and Northern Taurids.  The first, the Southern Taurids, is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The first stream reaches Earth on November 5th and 6th,
 
This is a minor shower, producing only 5 to 10 meteors per hour.
 
A 44% Last Quarter Moon will wash out the dimmer meteors, but, it is still worth the effort to see,  The meteors will appear to originate from the Constellation Taurus, but could appear anywhere in the sky.
 
The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on November 6, when she will be 251,381 miles from Earth.
 
The Northern Taurid Meteor Shower, the second of the two Taurid streams, will occur November 11 & 12. The Northern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. 
 
The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the night of the 11th and morning of the 12th. A New Moon will not interfere with this shower.
 
Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus but can appear anywhere in the sky.
 
New Moon will occur November 13. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 09:28 UTC or 4:28 AM CST. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
 
The annual Leonid meteor shower occurs from November 6 – 30 and peaks on the night of November 17 & the morning of the 18th.  Though the Leonids are an “average shower”, producing only an average of 15 meteors per hour, they are well known for producing bright meteors and fireballs. 
 
This shower is also unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001 and the next should occur in 2034. The Leonids are produced by dust grains left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. 
 
Its productivity varies per year, but it can deposit 12 to 13 tons of particles across the planet.  Which is why having an atmosphere to shield us is such a nifty thing.
 
The waxing crescent moon will set before midnight leaving dark skies for what should be a great early morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
 
First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur November 21 at 4:50 AM CST or 10:50 UTC/
 
During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
 
The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on November 21, when she will be 229,797 miles from Earth.
 
Full Moon will occur November 27. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 4:17 AM CST or 9:17 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been known as the Frosty Moon and the Dark Moon.
 
During a Full Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -12.7.
 
 
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This month’s meeting will be on November 14 at 7 PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.
 
Hope to see you there!
 
 
Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter
Hi everyone and welcome to the October ALERT Newsletter.
 
Fall has arrived and with it we can look forward to the changing of the fall leaves, the occasional nip in the air, and perhaps Hobgoblins visiting us at the end of the month.
 
October is a fun time of the year, usually being not too hot and not too cold – the “Goldilocks” of seasons.  
 
It is a time to enjoy fall football, the baseball playoffs, of which my Cubbies have a 4% chance of reaching, and the last outdoor adventures of the year.
 
Here is hoping that you safely enjoy the days that this season and the pretty weather October brings.  
 
 
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NWS Open House 2023
 
The NWS will open their office for public tours on Saturday, October 14th, 2023, from 10 am until 3 pm. Come take a look inside the operations area, meet the staff, and enjoy a variety of displays from local first responders and core government and private partners. There will be several activities for the kids, including trick-or-treating and a chance to help launch a weather balloon! 
 
What:   NWS Birmingham Open House
 
Where: National Weather Service
             465 Weathervane Rd Calera, AL
             (Located at the Shelby County Airport)
 
When:  Saturday, October 14, 2023
             Public Tours 10 AM – 3 PM
 
Admission is FREE!!
 
Things to Do:
 
There are activities for the whole family to enjoy at the Open House. Come prepared to learn about weather safety and preparedness in fun and exciting ways. The little ones are encouraged to come dressed in their Halloween costumes ready for some trick-or-treating!
 
Fun for the Whole Family:
 
Tour local National Weather Service (NWS) office.
Meet the local NWS meteorologists.
Learn how weather radar works by viewing the UAH MAX mobile radar.
Watch a weather balloon release at 12pm.
Tour various emergency vehicles from local fire departments and law enforcement.
Visit with local TV meteorologists and tour their storm chase vehicles (Birmingham & Montgomery stations).
Walk through exhibits from various local agencies & organizations.
Meet Owlie Skywarn & Sparky the Fire Dog.
Learn about weather safety & preparedness.
Enter to win a NOAA weather radio.
Grab some lunch from several local food trucks!
 
Special Activities for the Kids:
 
Trick-or-treating
Coloring contest
Scavenger hunt
Pictures with Owlie Skywarn (owl mascot)
Kids’ booth with various handouts & weather experiments you can do at home
Win chance to launch a weather balloon with Owlie! (Launch is scheduled for 12PM)
 
Directions
 
If using a GPS device for directions to the office, please use Shelby County Airport as the destination. In most cases, GPS does not place our address in the correct location.
 
Directions From I-65 South:
 
Take exit 234 (County Road 87).
Turn right onto Co Rd 87.
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Weathervane Rd.
 
Directions From I-65 North:
 
Take exit 234 (County Road 87).
Turn left onto Co Rd 87.
At the roundabout, take the first exit onto Weathervane Rd.
 
*No Smoking
**In the event of severe weather, the open house may need to be cancelled.
***No pets allowed. Service dogs permitted.
****No drugs, weapons, or alcohol of any kind allowed.
 
 
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Birmingham NWS Fall 2023 Spotter Courses
 
 
The Birmingham NWS will be offering several online and in person Basic and Advanced Spotter Courses this fall. These classes are FREE and allow individuals to complete these courses in the comfort of their own home or office as well as in a traditional format. 
 
By attending any course, which runs about 2 hours, an individual or a group of individuals will become SKYWARN Spotters. 
 
Unless you want to or are in need of a refresher, you do not need to attend more than one Basic SKYWARN Course, as the material covered is the same; however, it is required that you attend at least one Basic SKYWARN Course before taking the Advanced SKYWARN Course. These courses are two-way, meaning you will be able to interact with the meteorologist leading the training. You will be muted while training is in-progress, but you may use the built-in chat feature to ask questions.
 
 
 
 
To attend the Online Spotter Class:
 
1. Via the schedule below, register by clicking the link
corresponding to the class you’d like to attend.  
2. Select the ‘join webinar’ button on the registration page or
in your confirmation email and follow the prompts.
3. Enjoy the class and ask questions.
 
To avoid being hurried, give yourself at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the class to complete the above process.
 
The current schedule is as follows:
 
Online:
 
Basic Class            Thursday, October 5 at 6:30 PM              Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4295395439412965977
 
Basic Class        Thursday, October 19 at 6:30 PM      Class Registration Link:
            https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/387896041041244510
 
Basic Class        Tuesday, October 24 at 1:00 PM            Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6828852748739111258
 
Advanced Class    Thursday, October 26, at 6:30 PM           Class Registration Link:
            https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2457639818911010650
 
In Person:
 
Basic Class             Wednesday, October 18  at 6:30 PM        Community Listening Session
                                                                                                      Venue To Be Announced
                                                                                                      Selma, AL
 
Basic Class             Tuesday, October 24  at TBA*                   Talladega Central Alabama Community 
                                                                                                       College
            109 South Street E
                                                                                                       Talladega, AL
 
*To be announced
 
These classes will help you provide the NWS the vital “ground truth” information they need to verify radar indications, target their attention and help you relay reports in a clear manner to the NWS, either directly via 205-664-3010 and pressing 2, online at https://www.weather.gov/bmx/submitstormreport
or via chat or amateur radio.  This knowledge helps Skywarn Net Control stations filter reports, by giving them knowledge of what reporting stations are trying to describe.  This way they can tell if the report is a valid report, an invalid report by an overly excited operator or a valid, but poorly described report, which without this knowledge would be mistakenly dismissed.
 
For further information on these classes visit: http://www.weather.gov/bmx/skywarn
 
A PDF of the September 20, 2018 Basic presentation may be found at:
https://www.weather.gov/media/bmx/skywarn/BasicSpotterGSAT.pdf
 
A PDF of the April 4, 2019 Advanced presentation may be found at:
https://www.weather.gov/media/bmx/skywarn/Gerald_Satterwhite_Advanced_WEBPAGE.pdf
 
The NWS in Norman, OK have numerous YouTube videos worth exploring at:
https://www.youtube.com/user/NWSNorman/playlists
 
Other useful resources:
 
ABC33/40 Basic Storm Spotter Training
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_MzKUTfUKA
 
ABC 33/40 Storm Spotter Extreme Part 1 – April 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOE69nsaKWE
 
ABC 33/40 Storm Spotter Extreme Part 2 – April 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hT7gCCQB0
 
ABC 33/40 Storm Spotter Extreme Part 3 – April 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKHsAxNzqEM
 
For information on online training visit: 
https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_course.php?id=23
 
Note this online course IS NOT intended to replace the courses offered by the NWS offices. The local meteorologists will know factors and variations in the area microclimate that may need to be considered in assessing the observed phenomena.  Consider this online course as supplemental information.
 
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
 
 
Mark’s Almanac
 
The tenth Month, October is so named because it is the eighth month on the Roman calendar.  To the Slavs of Eastern Europe it is called “yellow month,” from the fading of the leaves, while to the Anglo-Saxons it was known as Winterfylleth, because at this full moon (fylleth) winter was supposed to begin.
 
By whichever name you call it, October is a mild and dry month, the driest of the year, in fact.  And it is a sunny month with the amount of possible sunshine reaching the ground in the 60% or greater range.
 
Weather shifts from autumn pattern to revisiting the summer pattern and back again. The Azores-Bermuda High shifts eastward into the Atlantic, but leaves weakened high pressure centers over the Virginias, which still try to block out approaching fronts.
 
October is usually a quite month for tornadoes, with a 40% decrease in activity.  Nationwide an average of 28 tornadoes occur in October and those tornadoes are usually weak.
 
Our Hurricane threat continues, with hurricane activity increasing during the first half of the month, concentrating in the Caribbean, both from formation in the Caribbean and from the long track Cape Verde hurricanes, which enter the Caribbean.  And, we still have the little “gifts” that the Gulf of Mexico occasionally will provide.  
 
Florida, due to its low latitude, becomes especially vulnerable to hurricanes.  Since 1851, Florida has endured 31 October hurricane landfalls, nearly triple the next highest state — Louisiana, which has had eight. Also, about 60 percent of all U.S. hurricanes that made landfall after September 26 have done so in Florida.  One factor being the cold fronts of Fall penetrating the Gulf and then deflecting storms towards the West coast of Florida.
 
Luckily after the second half of the month the activity will begin a steady decrease.  
 
28% of the year’s hurricanes occur in October.
 
From 1851 – 2022 there have been 365 Tropical Storms and 218 hurricanes, 60 of which made landfall in the United States.    
 
Some notable October hurricanes are: 
 
The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as Huracán San Calixto, the Great Hurricane of the Antilles, and the 1780 Disaster, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane, which killed between 20,000 to 22, 000 people in the Lesser Antilles as it passed through from October 10 – 16, 1780.  It is possible that it had winds in excess of 200 MPH when it reached Barbados.  
 
Hurricane Hazel struck the Carolinas in 1954.  Weather satellite did not yet exist, and the Hurricane Hunters were unable to observe the core of the storm until it neared land on October 15.  Hazel made landfall just west of the North Carolina/South Carolina border slightly northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a Category 4 intensity of 130 mph.
 
Hurricane Wilma still holds the record as the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin.  In 24 hours, Wilma went from a Category 1 storm on October 18 to a Category 5 storm with 185 MPH Maximum Sustained Winds.  She weakened to Category 4 and struck the Yucatan, then restrengthened and struck Cape Romano Florida as a Category 3 storm on October 24, 2005.
 
Hurricane Mitch became a Category 1 hurricane on October 24, 1998, and within 48 hours grew to Category 5 intensity, and though he weakened to Category 1 before making landfall, he became the second deadliest hurricane on record killing over 11,000, with nearly that number missing in Central America due to intense rainfall and mudslides.  He would eventually reach the United States making landfall near Naples Florida on November 5.
 
Hurricane Michael formed near the Yucatan Peninsula on October 7, 2018, and in 72 hours grew from a Tropical Depression to a Category 5 hurricane striking struck Mexico Beach Florida.
 
Beware of October hurricanes, for as Wilma, Mitch and Michael have demonstrated, they can experience explosive growth.
 
 
 
 
October Tropical Cyclone Breeding Grounds
 
This is the month for Alabama’s version of “Indian Summer’s” arrival.  
 
Technically speaking Indian Summer doesn’t occur until “Squaw Winter” or the first frost arrives, but exact date when Indian Summer arrives varies with latitude.  
 
We live in Alabama, and while the earliest frosts have been known to occur by October 17, they usually wait until November. So, we, in our milder climate call the first warm up after the first cool down “Indian Summer”.
 
The Yellow Giant Sulphur Butterflies are very noticeable as they continue to drift South-Southeast on their migration towards Florida.  They prefer red things & if you have red flowers, they will zero in on them. 
 
The Monarchs also will be seen gliding by in their migration towards Central America.
 
Fall colors will become prominent & by late October & early November the leaves will be reaching their peak fall colors.
 
Days rapidly grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 53.2 degrees at the beginning of the month to 42.3 degrees at the month’s end.  Daylight decreases from 11 hours 50 minutes on October 1 to 10 hours 51 minutes on October 31.
 
Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:
 
October 1 Sunrise 5:41 AM   Sunset 6:32 PM
October 15 Sunrise 6:51 AM   Sunset 6:14 PM
October 31 Sunrise 7:05 AM   Sunset 5:56 PM
 
Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Virgo, The Virgin.  
 
Mercury, magnitude -0.9 in Leo, The Lion, at the beginning of the month is barely visible in the dawn sky, rising at 5:29 AM, 1 hour and 9 minutes before the Sun and reaching an altitude of just 10° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:23 AM.
 
He will disappear on October 5th as he becomes lost in the glare of the Sun, and will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Superior Conjunction” on October 20.
 
Venus, magnitude -4.7 in Leo, The Lion, shines brilliantly in the early morning sky rising at the beginning of the month, at 3:13 AM, 3 hours and 25 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 38° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:23 AM.
 
By midmonth she will rise at 3:12 AM, 3 hours and 37 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 40° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:33 AM.
 
On October 21 Venus will reach her highest point in the sky, reaching a peak altitude of 44° above the horizon at sunrise, and reach her greatest separation from the Sun, or “Greatest Western Elongation” on October 23.
 
By months end she will rise at 3:22 AM, 3 hours and 40 minutes before the Sun and reaching an altitude of 40° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:46 AM
 
Earth, magnitude -4.0 as viewed from the Sun, and her Moon is in the constellation Cetus, The Whale.
 
Mars, magnitude +1.6, with his Moons Phobos and Deimos, in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.
 
Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 8.9, is in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.
 
Jupiter, magnitude –2.8, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, in Aries, The Ram, shines brightly as an late evening / early morning object.
 
At the beginning of the month, he becomes visible around 8:55 PM, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 2:56 AM, 71° above the southern horizon, and will be lost in the dawn twilight around 6:23 AM, 39° above the western horizon.
 
By midmonth he becomes visible around 7:56 PM, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 1:55 AM, 70° above the southern horizon. He will be lost in dawn twilight around 6:33 AM, 24° above the western horizon.
 
At the end of the month, he becomes visible at around 6:47 PM, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 12:44 AM, 70° above the southern horizon. He will be visible until around, 6:42 AM when he sinks below the western horizon.
 
Saturn, magnitude +0.6, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, as an evening object.  
 
At the beginning of the month, he becomes visible around 7:00 PM, 23° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 10:20 PM, 43° above the southern horizon and will continue to be observable until around 2:50 AM, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.
 
At midmonth he becomes visible around 6:43 PM, 29° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 9:22 PM, 43° above the southern horizon and will continue to be visible until around 1:52 AM, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.
 
At months end he becomes visible around 6:26 PM, 36° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 9:18 PM, 43° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 12:47 AM, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.
 
Uranus, magnitude +5.7, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is currently visible as a morning object, becoming visible around 10:24 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 3:27 AM, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 5:40 AM, 56° above the western horizon.
 
By midmonth he will become visible around 9:27 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 2:31 AM , 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 5:50 AM, 42° above the western horizon.
 
At month’s end he becomes visible around 8:22 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He reaches his highest point in the sky at 1:25 AM, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:02 AM, 26° above the western horizon.
 
Neptune, magnitude 7.7, and his 14 moons and ring, in Pisces, The Fish, becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes between 7:46 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 11:50 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 3:54 AM when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
At midmonth he will become accessible around 7:12 PM, 26° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 10:54 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 2:58 AM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
At the end of the month, he becomes accessible around 6:56 PM, 34° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 9:49 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:53 AM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.
 
Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim +14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.
 
Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of +17.4 in Bootes the Herdsman
 
Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) 1, nicknamed MK1 by the discovery team, shines faintly at magnitude +17.2 in Coma Berenices.
 
Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.6 in Cetus the Sea Monster.
 
At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.
 
90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude +19.1 between Hydra, the Sea Monster and Serpens the Snake.
 
50000 Quaoar,and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiucus the Serpent Bearer,
 
90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.8 in Taurus the Bull.
 
225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius the Water Bearer.
 
Unnamed Dwarf Planet 2014 UZ224, nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 in Eridanus the River.
 
Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, an asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.
 
FarFarOut is currently 12,355,641,596 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 25 minutes and 27.5 seconds from Earth.
 
The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 46 years, 22 months and 5 days is 15,012,965,079 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 23 minutes and 12 Seconds from Earth as of 12:57  PM, September 27, 2023, sailing 34,390 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
 
There are 1,312,822 known asteroids as of September 27, 2023, per NASA.
 
5523 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of September 20, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.
 
Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur October 6 at 8:47 AM CDT or 13-47 UTC.
 
During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
 
The Draconid Meteor Shower will peak on October 8 & 9. This minor shower, which produces only 10 meteors per hour,  is produced by dust grains left behind by Comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was discovered in 1900. This shower, which runs from October 6 – 10, is unusual in that it is best observed in the early evening, instead of the early morning hours as with most other showers.
 
The last quarter moon will be visible in the early morning but shouldn’t interfere too much. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
 
The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on October 9, when she will be 251,920 miles from Earth.
 
New Moon occurs October 25 at 12:56 PM CDT or 17:56 UTC, when the Moon will on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.
 
An Annular Solar Eclipse will occur on October 14. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is too far away from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of light around the darkened Moon. The Sun’s corona is not visible during an annular eclipse. 
 
The eclipse path will begin in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Canada and move across the southwestern United States and Central America, Columbia, and Brazil. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout much of North and South America.
 
In Birmingham the eclipse times are:
 
Partial Eclipse begins     10:38 AM
Maximum Eclipse            12:08 PM
Partial Eclipse Ends          1:42 PM
 
The Sun is never completely blocked by the Moon during an annular solar eclipse. Therefore, during an annular eclipse, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing.
 
Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.
 
See 2023 Annular Eclipse safety sheet at:
https://smd-cms.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-safe-eclipse-viewing-flyer-digital-download.pdf
 
The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks on October 20 & 21. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak This shower, which runs from October 2 to November 7, is produced by the broad debris trail of Halley’s Comet. 
 
The first quarter moon may block some of the dim meteors in the evening, but it will set shortly after midnight. This will leave dark skies for what could be a good morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.
 
First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur October 21 at 10:29 PM CDT or 03:29 UTC October 22.
 
During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
 
The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on October 25, when she will be 226,722 miles from Earth.
 
October’s Full Moon will occur October 28.  The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 3:34 PM or 20:34 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling, and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon. This full moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year.
 
If there is a solar or lunar eclipse, there will be a lunar or solar eclipse within two weeks.  Accordingly, there will be a Partial Lunar Eclipse on October 28.
 
A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s partial shadow, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, a part of the Moon will darken as it moves through the Earth’s shadow. 
 
The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and western Australia.
 
Southern Taurids Meteor Shower occurs October 29 & 30. The Southern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The Southern Taurids is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 10 to November 20. It peaks this year on the night of the 29th and morning of the 30th.
 
Unfortunately, the Full Moon will wash out all but the brightest meteors. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus but can appear anywhere in the sky.
 
This is the time of year when the rich star clouds of the Milky Way in Cygnus cross the zenith, looking like a ghostly band overhead in the hour after nightfall is complete. The Milky Way now rises straight up from the southwest horizon, passes overhead, and runs straight down to the northeast. 
 
Later at midnight, Orion the Hunter and the stars of winter rise over the eastern horizon, reminding us to enjoy the mild weather while it is here, for this season, as all seasons, is but a fleeting moment in the never-ending waltz of time.
 
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
 
 
This month’s meeting will be on October 10 at 7 PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.
 
Hope to see you there!
 
 
Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter
 
Wd4nyl@bellsouth.net
 

Hi everyone,

I hope all are doing well. As I write this, I see the first signs of Fall. The air is a little less humid and the temperatures just a tad less oppressive. Most notable is the view out of my window as bright yellow spots go flapping and gliding by as the butterflies have started migrating, taking an exact South-southeast course to who knows where.

Oh, and are you ready for some football?

I hope you have a good month, and I hope to see you at our next meeting, which will be on September 12.

Roll Tide & War Eagle.

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How Far Is Up?

If one “reads the traffic”, as they say, on various online radio forums, one question which persistently appears is the question of radio range. “I want to be able to keep in touch with Granny who is 75 miles from me when (insert ones favorite disaster scenario) hits. My Baofeng UV-5R that I got off of Amazon should do this shouldn’t it? The ad said so anyway.”

Then when someone answers that in all probability the answer is “no” and that both he and Granny would need ham licenses anyway, the usual collection of Kooks, Knuckleheads and Chuckleheads appear, assuring him that they talk to folk in Honolulu on 2 meters using simplex every day and “you don’t need no stinkin’ license in an emergency anyway. These folk sayin’ that you do are just gatekeepin’ Sad Hams. And, after all, why should man license what God created anyway? Don’t be spineless sheeple. Just transmit.”.

This isn’t exaggeration, there are folk out there with that mindset – far too many.

Radios can be complicated beasts. IF one is getting a radio for emergency use, one would think one would want to learn everything they could about the device they will be depending on for life and death situations. One would want to know how it works, where it works, where it doesn’t work and why and how to overcome the problems that may arise, along with which repeaters really working and are actually populated, not “RF Ghost Gowns” and when folk are most likely to be listening if you needed to call for help.

You learn all of this by first learning the material you need for passing the FCC exam, passing the exam and then learning through experience as you use the radio. Using it regularly and learning it’s quirks and perks. Using it so frequently that it becomes just a natural part of life. Switch to RF? No big deal, for you do so all the time. Also, I believe in having and using multiple options. I have ham, CB, GMRS/FRS and MURS capability. Not, just because I’m addicted to radios, which I am, but, because I like having the flexibility and redundancy.

You would also want to know how not to sound like a nut or someone on a bootleg or stolen radio. After all, if you sound like nut, folk will generally avoid you, since encouraging nuts and bootleggers is usually not a desirable action.

Plus, there is a huge credibility gap with unlicensed transmissions. Do they really have an emergency or are they just playing games?

I’ve heard bogus distress calls before. One was so realistic and well done that the Birmingham Fire & Rescue was summoned to a house with someone hemorrhaging, only to find it was a vacant field and another dramatic episode which resulted in the Birmingham Police being sent on a wild goose chase.

A callsign lends to credibility.

Also, consider this. If you are truly investing in equipment that you may be depending on for possible life and death use, then maybe you don’t want to rely on the cheapest piece of gear you can find. Save a little money and invest in quality. Think this through.

After all, and with apologies to those who own and love Baofeng and similar radios, which I also have, would you really want to go skydiving with the cheapest parachute from Bubba’s Thrift Store? If you or your loved one’s lives may someday depend on a piece of equipment – any equipment – one should choose wisely, opt for dependability and not just go the cheapest route available.

But, back to the question of radio range and why it is actually a difficult question to give an honest answer to, let’s journey for a while to the bustling metropolis of Mayberry, which is nestled in the shadow of the Appalachians.

To the west of Mayberry is Campbell Mountain, which has three repeaters – 146.720 MHz, 146.860 MHz and 147.100 MHz.

146.720 has been damaged by lightning. It’s transmitter is at full power and can be heard for 50 miles, but the zapped receiver is very weak. One trying to reach the repeat might wonder why, with such a strong signal they can’t hit it. It’s because the repeater is basically deaf. Or as they say, it is an “Alligator Station” – big mouth, tiny ears.

146.860 has the exact opposite problem. It has a great receiver, but the transmitter’s final amplifier is fried, and it is putting out 1/10th of a watt. One trying to get into the repeater can’t hear it, though the repeater is hearing and faithfully retransmitting a wisp of a signal. It has become an “Elephant Station” – big ears, tiny mouth.

147.100 has been off the air for years. The owner has every intention of reviving it, but currently can’t afford the replacement parts. Repeater databases still show it as on the air, but for actual use, it doesn’t exist. And since these databases are voluntary efforts, it may not have been updated for weeks, months or even years and is still shown as active. It is a “Paper Repeater”. Listed, but not only an illusion.

The best repeater is on Mount Pilot. 147.340, which has a 70 mile footprint, except to the northeast, as the antenna is side mounted on the southwestern side tower, and there is a RF shadow to the northeast. Anyone in that shadow may hear the repeater but, they won’t be able to hit it.

This is why Emmett on Bass Mountain 50 miles to the northeast can’t hear the repeater, but can contact his fishing buddy Floyd, who has a cabin on Mount Pilot, regularly on simplex, having no obstructions, and it being from mountain peak to mountain peak,

In the valley to the west of Mayberry, is the Pyle National Forest, named after a military hero. Camping there are Barney and Thelma Lou. The area is heavily forested, and Barney, who goes hiking gets deep into woods and loses contact with Thelma Lou on simplex after only 1000 feet. Barney also loses cellphone and GPS coverage as the forest canopy is blocking all signals.

Thelma Lou, who is camped by Darling Creek can’t hear Barney, but can see Mount Pilot and easily reach the repeater which is 15 miles away.

Meanwhile in town, Howard and Sam were talking to each other on simplex, but lost each other after going beyond one half mile separation, due to buildings blocking the signal, so they switched to the Mount Pilot repeater.

Thelma Lou, incidentally, could hear Sam faintly on simplex from 5 miles away as his signal was being reflected off of the sheer sides of Taylor Cliff on the southern side of Mount Pilot.

She switches to the Mount Pilot repeater and informs Howard and Sam that Barney has “done it again” and they call 911 to have Engine 3 and Sheriff Opie Taylor come out and find him yet again, as he is lost somewhere in the woods, something she has been trying to nip in the bud for years.

So…what radio range can an HT have around Mayberry?

Depending on who you talk to 1000 feet, half a mile, 50 miles or anywhere in the 70 mile repeater footprint (except in that northeastern shadow).

It’s exactly like cellphones, where you can have 5 bars of signal in the kitchen and none in the den. Can’t hit a repeater? Move over 5 feet and try it again.

This is why answering questions about range is as easy as asking “how far is up?” There are just too many variables. It is literally “in the eyes of the beholders” or in this case, the radio users.

This is why one needs to learn these variables long BEFORE an emergency, and not during, when lives are at stake and times is not on your side.

Learn today so you don’t regret later,


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


Mark’s Almanac

September is the ninth month of the year and the seventh month of the Roman calendar, which is where the month gets its name.

Temperatures are still hot at the beginning of the month, but, by months end, fall will definitely be felt.

Noticeable in September will be the thickening of the cat’s fur, as she begins growing her winter coat & the drift of Yellow Giant Sulphur Butterflies as they migrate towards Florida.

Weather starts shifting from the summer to autumn pattern and then back again. Storm activity resembles the August pattern, but the Bermuda High starts shifting southward and begins weakening, which weakens the blocking effect that has hampered fronts attempting to invade from the northwest.

September is the peak of the hurricane season, the actual peak being on September 10. This peak coincides with the time of “syzygy”, when the effects of the solar and lunar gravity and autumnal equinox combine to provide the highest astronomical tides of the year. Add a hurricane’s storm surge on top of this and you can have incredibly destructive flooding.

From 1851 – 2022 there have been 637 Tropical Storms, 3 Subtropical Storm and 423 hurricanes, 112 of which made landfall in the United States.

Some notable September hurricanes are:

The Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which was a Category 4 Storm whose storm surge overwhelmed Galveston Island, killing 8000 people, and is still the deadliest weather disaster in US history.

The Labor Day Hurricane of 1936, the most intense storm to strike the US, was a Category 5 storm which moved through the Florida Keys and along West Florida, overturning trains and literally sandblasting people to death.

Ivan, the category 3 storm which struck Alabama & Florida in 2004, caused tremendous damage to Gulf Shores and extensive damage to the state’s electrical grid. At the height of the outages, Alabama Power reported 489,000 subscribers having lost electrical power—roughly half of its subscriber base.

Rita, a category 3 storm which struck the Texas – Louisiana border in 2005, and, despite the distance, dropped 22 tornadoes over Western Alabama.

Ian, a category 4 storms which struck Florida in 2022, following the exact path of Hurricane Charley in August 2004.

 

 

 


Days continue to grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 64.9 degrees at the beginning of the month to 53.6 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight decreases from 12 hours 52 minutes on August 1 to 11 hours 53 minutes on August 31.

 

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

September 1 Sunrise 6:21 AM Sunset 7:13 PM
September 15 Sunrise 6:30 AM Sunset 6:55 PM
September 31 Sunrise 6:41 AM Sunset 6:33 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Leo, The Lion.

Mercury, magnitude +0.3 in Leo, The Lion, is lost in the glow of the sun and will pass between the Sun and the Earth or be in “Inferior Conjunction” of September 6.

He will remain too close to the Sun for observation until September 19, when he will emerge into the predawn sky rising at 5:09 AM, 1 hour and 21 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of just 10° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks around 6 AM.

He will reach peak altitude of 17° above the horizon at sunrise on 24 Sep 2023 and then will start sinking back towards the sunrise

By month’s end he will rise at 05:29 AM, 1 hour and 9 minutes before the Sun and reach an altitude of just 10° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as the dawn breaks, a little after 6 AM.

Venus, magnitude -4.1 in Cancer, The Crab, is an early morning object, rising, at the first of the month, at 4:24 AM, nearly two hours before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 19° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6 AM.

She rises earlier and earlier as the month progresses, rising at 03:13 AM, nearly 3 hours 30 minutes before the Sun and reaching an altitude of 38° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks.

Earth, magnitude -4.0 as viewed from the Sun, and her Moon is in the constellation Aquarius, The Waterbearer.

Mars, magnitude +1.8, with his Moons Phobos and Deimos in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 8.9, is in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.5, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, in Aries, The Ram,
dominates the early morning skies becoming visible at the first of the month around 11PM at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon.

He will reach his highest point around 5 AM, 71° above the southern horizon and sink to only 66° above the south-western horizon when he is lost in the dawn twilight around 6 AM.

By months end he becomes visible by 9 PM at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon and reaching his highest point in the sky at 3 AM, 71° above the southern horizon. He will be lost in the dawn twilight around just before 6:30, 39° above the western horizon.

Saturn, magnitude +0.5, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, is an early morning object, rising at the first of the month becoming visible around 8 PM 10° above the eastern horizon.

He will reach its highest point in the sky at around 12:20 AM, 44° above the southern horizon. It will become inaccessible at around 5 AM when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.

By months end he will rise at 8 PM, 23° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness.

He reaches its highest point in the sky around 10:20 PM, 43° above the southern horizon. He
Will then sink towards the horizon, disappearing from view around 3 AM.

Uranus, magnitude +5.8, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is a morning object becoming visible around 10:30 PM and reaching his highest altitude of 74° above the southern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks a little after 5 AM.

At mid-month he becomes visible around 11:30 PM and by months end he becomes visible around
10:30 PM reaching an altitude of 21° above your eastern horizon and then reaching highest point in the sky around 3:30 AM, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:AM, 56° above the western horizon.

If the timing of when he becomes visible seems strange, 10:30,11:30 and then 10:20, it is because he has entered a “retrograde motion”, halting his usual eastward movement through the constellations, and turning to move westwards instead.

This reversal of direction is a phenomenon that all the solar system’s outer planets periodically undergo, a few months before they reach “Opposition”, when it lies opposite to the Sun in the sky.

The retrograde motion is caused by the Earth’s own motion around the Sun. As the Earth circles the Sun, our viewing perspective changes, and this causes the apparent positions of objects to move from side-to-side in the sky with a one-year period. This nodding motion is super-imposed on the planet’s long-term eastward motion through the constellations. He will complete this retrograde cycle in January.

Neptune, magnitude 7.7, and his 14 moons and ring, is in Pisces, The Fish, is visible using a telescope in the morning sky, becoming accessible around 10 PM, when it reaches an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 2 AM, 53° above the southern horizon. It will be lost to dawn twilight around 05:17, 30° above your south-western horizon.

He will reach Opposition on September 19.

By months end he will become observable around just before 8 PM, when he rises to an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach its highest point in the sky at midnight, 53° above the southern horizon. It will become inaccessible at around 4 AM when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim +14.4 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of +17.4 in Bootes the Herdsman

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) 1, nicknamed MK1 by the discovery team, shines faintly at magnitude +17.2 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.

90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude +19.1 between Hydra, the Sea Monster and Serpens the Snake.

50000 Quaoar,and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiucus the Serpent Bearer,

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.9 in Taurus the Bull.

225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius the Water Bearer.

Unnamed Dwarf Planet 2014 UZ224, nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.1 in Eridanus the River.

Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, an asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is currently 12,396,145, 283 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 29 minutes and 4.8 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 45 years, 11 months and 15 days is 14,930,222,731 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 15 minutes and 48 Seconds from Earth as of 3:05 PM, August 20, 2023, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

There are 1,301,184 known asteroids as of August 20, 2023 per NASA.

5496 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of August 10, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur September 6 at 5:21 PM CDT or 10:21 UTC.

During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on September 12, when she will be 252,456 miles from Earth.

New Moon occurs September 14 at 8:39 CDT PM or 1:39 UTC on September 15, when the Moon will on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur September 22 at 2:31 PM or 7:31 UTC.

Fall begins at Autumnal Equinox on September 23 at 1:50 AM CDT or 6:50 UTC, when the Sun crosses directly over the equator and night and day is approximately the same length throughout the world. For the Southern Hemisphere it is Vernal Equinox, the first day of Spring.

One term that occasionally pops up is “equinoctial storms”. Which are severe storms in North America and the UK that supposedly accompany the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Where this belief originated is obscure. Some say perhaps from the 1700’s when sailors were greeted by West Indies hurricanes, or due to the coincidence of the first fall severe storms sometimes coming in the latter half of September. At any rate, statistics show no evidence to support the belief.

On this date, if there is sufficient solar activity, and you are away from city lights, the aurora may possibly be seen, as the Equinox dates are the two most favored times of the year for auroral sightings.

At this time of year, the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) can link up with Earth’s magnetic field, prying open cracks. Solar wind pours in to fuel displays of the aurora borealis with no geomagnetic storm required. Researchers call this the “Russell-McPherron” effect after the space physicists who first described it in the 1970s.

The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on September 28, when she will be 223,638 miles from Earth.

September’s Full Moon will occur September 29 at 4:59 AM CDT or 09:59 UTC.

The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the “Corn Moon” because the corn is harvested around this time of year.

This moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year.

The name “Harvest Moon” dates from the time before electricity, when farmers depended on the Moon’s light to harvest their crops late into the night. The Harvest Moon was especially important since it coincided with the largest harvest of the year.

This is the last of four Supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

During a Full Moon, the Moon’s magnitude is -12.7.

Comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) is a long-period comet which was discovered by amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura on 12 August 2023.

It is possible that it could be bright enough to be observed with binoculars in the first days of September before sunrise.

Comets are notoriously unpredictable, with faint ones flaring brilliantly, anticipated bright ones never brightening at all or being melted into rubble by the Sun.

If you want to see this new comet, you’ll need to rise early in the morning, between one and half to two hours before sunrise. You’ll also need good binoculars, say a 7 X 35 mm pair, but, not a telescope, as binoculars give you maximum light gathering capability, and two light detectors – your eyes – where telescopes overmagnify and lose definition when looking at defuse objects and provide one eyes worth of visual data.

You will need to find a dark sky, well away from any bright lights and a clear and unobstructed view of the east-northeast sky.

At the beginning of the month, it will be tracking through the faint stars of Cancer, The Crab and moving into Leo, The Lion across a star grouping known as “The Sickle” – the backward question mark star pattern marking the head and mane of Leo, The Lion.

He will be low above the horizon, and lowering each passing day. He will brighten to magnitude 5, just borderline naked eye visibility, but will be only 10°, or one outstretched fist width, above the horizon as the twilight sky brightens. He will then drop into the Sun’s glare, and if he survives the passage near the Sun, he will reappear in the evening sky, but, only in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere.

High in the Southern night sky an asterism or a group of stars appearing clustered together, but not actually gravitationally bound, will be seen that resembles a teapot. This is the Teapot of Sagittarius.

To the naked eye, the Teapot is roughly the size of your fist at arm’s length. Above the spout of the Teapot lies a band of light, emerging like steam from the spout of the Teapot, which is the Large Sagittarius Star Cloud. A pair of binoculars will reveal a sea of stars and faint grayish patches, the largest of which is the Lagoon Nebula. When you look upon these nebulae you are seeing stars in the process of being born.

The spout, which is tilting and pouring to the right, also points towards the galactic center of the Milky Way, located just beyond the Large Sagittarius Star cloud, but largely hidden by the dust clouds, which lie along the plane of the Sagittarius arm of the galaxy.

While we sweat through Summer, do you want at sneak peek at the Winter sky? Step out before the first light of dawn, and the sky displays the same starry panorama it does at dinnertime around New Year’s. With Orion the Hunter striding up in the southeast, Taurus the Bull with Aldebaran and then the Pleiades high above it. Sirius the Dog Star sparkles far down below Orion, and Gemini The Twins are lying on their sides well up in the east, left of Orion.


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Comments, suggestions, articles and items for YOUR Newsletter are welcome!

Send to Mark

This month’s meeting will be on September 12 at 7 PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

Hi everyone,

I hope this finds you safe and well as we bake and broil in this miserable heat. The good news is that in just a little over a month the heat and humidity will begin it’s retreat towards the tropical realms from whence it came and in about 6 months we will be griping and wishing we could borrow one of these days for a welcomed winter thaw.

Until then hug an air conditioner, remember to stay hydrated and don’t cook the doggy by walking him in this giant toaster oven that we find ourselves in.

Our next ALERT meeting will be on August 8, at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera, (which has good air conditioning).


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How Low Can You Go?

I have always loved radio and radio technology. One could say, with apologies to the streaming service, that “I heart radio”. My fond heartedness stretches almost as long as my interest in astronomy, which began at age 5, as I looked through my older sister’s science book and marveled at the pictures it contained.

Now and then I have heard, when speaking of radio receivers, of wishing that one had a radio reaching from “DC to Daylight.” And, while such a mythological beast does not yet exist, we edge closer and closer to it with each decade.

Current radio technology allows access from 3 Hz to 10 – 30 THz. At that 30 THz point there is a gap called the “Terahertz Gap” for which the practical technologies for generating and detecting the radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum from that point to the infrared light spectrum does not yet exist.

This realm is also considered the far infrared light spectrum, which stretches from roughly 300 GHz to 30 THz.

Above this is the mid infrared, from 30 GHz to 120 THZ and near infrared region from 120 THz to 400 THZ. Then we reach visible light, with red 400 to 480 THz, orange 480 to 510 THz, yellow 510 – 530 THz, green 530 – 600 THz, cyan 600 – 620 THz, blue 620 – 670 THz and violet 670 – 790 THz. Then comes ultraviolet, then x-ray and finally gamma ray radiation.

The main limiting factor that causes the Terahertz gap is, except for some experimental devices, the Earth’s atmosphere.

As the radio frequency increases above 30 GHz, the Earth’s atmospheric gases absorb increasing amounts of RF power, and the power of all radio waves decreases exponentially with distance from the transmitting antenna.

At 30 GHz, useful communication is limited to about around .6 miles or 1 km, and decreases as the frequency increases so that when you reach the realm 300 GHz, the radio waves are attenuated to zero within a few yards, so the atmosphere is essentially opaque to radio signals.

In the vacuum of space, this would not be a problem and perhaps some day these frequencies will be used by space explorers and outposts.

Meanwhile here on Earth, as technology progresses, the Terahertz Gap, is closing, and some day it will be overcome, just as the 200 meter radio frequency limit was.

100 years ago, the frequencies above 200 meters or 1.5 MHz or 1500 kHz we’re considered “useless” and hams were consigned to them to cure their propensity for interfering with marine and broadcast stations.

Then hams discovered that worldwide communications we’re possible on these useless higher frequencies and short wave radio was born.

But, that’s how high can you go and the question was how low you can really go on the radio dial?

Low frequency oscillations related to the Earth’s magnetosphere occur below 3 Hz, in the Ultra Low Frequency range or ULF.

Extreme Low Frequency range or ELF stretches from 3 to 30 Hz.

ELF signals can penetrate seawater and the attenuation of ELF waves is so low that they can travel completely around the Earth several times before significantly decaying, and waves radiated from a source in opposite directions circumnavigating the Earth on a great circle path will interfere with each other.

The lowest frequencies currently in use are in the SLF or Super Low Frequency realm from 30 HZ to 300 Hz and are used to signal submerged submarines.

At these low frequencies (which are commonly, if mistakenly referred to as ELF) the signal bandwidth is so very small that voice communications are not possible and only short, coded text messages at a very low data rate are possible. These messages are used to instruct submarines to rise to the surface to receive longer operational orders by ordinary radio or satellite communication.

The US Navy operated a system called Project ELF from 1989 to 2004 using two linked transmitters at Clam Lake Wisconsin & Republic Michigan.

The Clam Lake facility had two 14 mile transmission line antennas, called ground dipoles, in the shape of a cross, with the transmitting station at their intersection.

The Republic facility consisted of three transmission line antennas, two of which were 14 miles long and one 28 miles long in the shape of the letter “F”. The shape was not significant, but was dictated by land availability.

The system transmitted at 76 Hz, 16 Hz above the North American power line frequency, with an alternate capability at 45 Hz and used a combined power of 2.6 megawatts.

The system transmitted continuously, 24 hours a day, sending an “idle” message when it was not being used, so that submarines could verify they were within communication range.

The system was controversial, especially with environmentalists and protesters, who cut down the transmission line poles five times, briefly interrupting operations.

In 2004 the Navy shut down both transmitters, explaining that the Very Low Frequency, VLF, communication systems had improved to the point that the ELF system was unnecessary.

The lowest known confirmed manmade signal to be received is an experimental Russian signal for “geophysical applications” transmitted at 12 kHz on the Kola Peninsula southeast of Murmansk.

The Russian Navy currently uses a transmitter at 82 Hz called ZEUS to communicate with its submarines. The transmitter is 19 miles southeast of Murmansk on the Kola peninsula in northern Russia, and produces an estimated radiated power between 10 & 14 megawatts, which if accurate would make it the most powerful transmitter in Europe.

The Indian Navy operates an ELF transmitter at the INS Kattabomman Naval Base in Tamil Nadu to communicate with its Arihant & Akula Class submarines.

China recently built an ELF transmitter complex with an antenna said to be five times the size of New York City. It is thought to be in the Dabie Mountains, a protected reserve that spans the Hubei, Anhui and Henan Provinces, 620 miles south of Beijing. It’s antenna is in the shape of a cross 62 miles long and wide.

The frequency of the Indian and Chines transmitters is बेअत्स मे and 我不知道.

The lowest frequency stations I ever received were the now defunct US Omega navigation beacons on 10.2, 11.33 and 13.6 kHz and the still operational Russian Alpha beacons on 11.90 12.64 and 12.88 kHz.

The equipment I used was a Radio Shack DX-300 receiver (one of the few receivers that reach below 100 kHz), a homemade 80 turn loop antenna and an unbelievably long antenna strung back and forth along the top of a fence. Maybe 1,000 of wire. I also made a homebrew low pass filter to silence the interference from broadcast stations and crude tuner antenna tuner out of spare parts and poking and praying. The receiver could be coaxed down to 8 kHz.

Today there is a problem with modern receivers and VLF reception. I have a Yaesu FT-450 and a Kenwood TS-570D and while both will receive in the VLF range down to 30 kHz, both also kick in a 20 db attenuator when you go below 1.800 MHz, which effectively kills their ability to receive distant stations below 160 meters. On the other hand, my Yaesu FT-817 doesn’t have this attenuator, so you can still enjoy AM and VLF DXing, albeit only to 100 kHz.

The VLF world is a weird stretch of radio spectrum. There are natural signals you will occasionally hear including the “dawn chorus”. A sound appearing at dawn which resemble the sound of birds at dawn, the cause of which is a bunch of mumbo jumbo related to the electrons being injected into the Earth’s magnetosphere by solar storms.

You may also hear a “whistler”, which sounds like someone whistling to get your attention, caused by static or “sferics” from thunderstorms in the southern hemisphere following the lines of the Earth’s magnetic field from storms located at the same latitude and longitude in South America. Static from the Amazon, in our case.

As you go higher in frequency you will on occasion hear teletype from naval bases to submarines and other military users.

 


Notably at:

16.300 kHz VTX1 INS Kattabomman, India
16.300 kHz JXN Novik, Norway
17.000 kHz VTX2 INS Kattabomman, India
17.200 kHz SAQ Grimeton, Sweden
18.100 kHz RDL Russian Navy (location varies)
18.200 kHz VTX3 Kattabomman, India
18.300 kHz HWU Ronay, France
19.100 kHz HWU Ronay, France
19.200 kHz VTX4 Kattabomman, India
19.580 kHz GBZ Anthorn, UK
19.800 kHz NWC Exmouth, Australia
20.270 kHz ICV Isloa Di Tavolara, Italy
20.900 kHz FTASainte-Assise, France
21.400 kHz NPM Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
21.750 kHz HWU Ronay, France
22.100 kHz GQD Skelton, OK
22.200 kHz NDT Ebino, Japan
23.400 kHz DHO38 Rhauderfehn, Germany
22.600 kHz HWU Ronay, France
24.000 kHz NAA Cutler, Maine
24.800 kHz NLK Jim Creek, Washington
25.000 kHz —– Mokpo, South Korea
25.200 kHz NML La Moure, North Dakota
26.700 kHz TBB Bafa, Turkey
37.500 kHz NRK.TFK Grindavik, Iceland
40.000 kHz JJY40 Fukishima, Japan
40.400 kHz SRC Varberg, Sweden
40.800 kHz NAU Aguada, PR
45.900 kHz NSY Niscemi, Italy
49.000 kHz SXA Marathon, Greece
51.950 kHz GYW1 Crimond, UK
60.000 kHz WWVB Fort Collins Colorado
62.600 kHz FUG Le Regine, France
65.800 kHz FUE Kerlouan, France
68.500 kHz BPC Henan, Provence, China
73.600 kHz CFH Halifax, Canada
77.500 kHz DCF77 Mainflingen, Germany
81.000 kHz GYN2 Inskip, UK
100.00 kHz LORAN-C Navigation System

As with all radio signals, there are no guarantees you will hear any of the above just when you want to. Patience is the key.

Note that WWVB at 60 kHz is a non-voice digital signal, quite unlike WWV & WWVH. It is the signal used to synch clocks and other devices. It sounds like a carrier with “occasional “dit” sounds.

As to LORAN-C, in May 2009 the Obama Administration declared the system obsolete and announced plans to terminate it. Some countries opted to continue the system as a backup to the GPS, in case it was disabled, either due to natural causes or an act of war. Other countries dropped the system. So, you may or may not hear a thing. If you tune to 100 kHz and hear a sound like dice being shaken in a Yahtzee cup, you are hearing LORAN-C.

It is quite different from the ear shattering buzz saw sound of the old LORAN-A system that transmitted from 1850 – 1950 kHz covering most of the 160 meter ham band. The 160 meter ham band was a secondary allocation, LORAN-C was primary and hams we’re at reduced power and on a non-interfering basis.

I can clearly recall the sound – like a dozen giant cicadas droning in slow motion.

Thankfully for hams that ended in North America on December 31, 1980.

So, there you have the radio world from 0 to 100 kHz.

If you have the equipment, give it a try. You never know what you will hear!


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Mark’s Almanac

August was originally named “Sextilis”, the sixth Roman month. It was renamed August in honor of Caesar Augustus and lengthened to 31 days, to equal Julius Caesar’s month of July.

August is hot and humid and summer temperatures remain at or near their summer peak.

The rapid vegetation growth of spring is over, and, since conditions are now perfect for the growth of mold, fungi & germs, plants have a “used” look, which is enhanced if rainfall is scarce.

In August the choir of cicadas whine in the afternoon & towards the end of the month the big Yellow Sulphur Butterflies will begin heading to the South-Southeast, giving hints of their soon upcoming fall migration & cats will begin to hint of growing their winter coats.

Hurricane breeding grounds in August are the Atlantic, with Low Latitude “Cape Verde” storms forming off Africa crossing the Ocean and either threatening the Eastern Seaboard or striking the Leeward Islands, entering the Caribbean and then striking the Yucatan, or the Western or Northern Gulf coast. Breeding grounds also include the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.


August is second only to September in the number of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes. From 1851 to 2022 there have been 402 Tropical Storms and 252 Hurricanes, 82 of which made landfall in the United States, the most notable storms being Hurricanes Camille, Katrina and Ida in 1969, 2005 and 2021, which devastated Mississippi and Louisiana and Hurricane Andrew which ravaged South Florida in 1992.

21% of a year’s Hurricanes occur in August, however, 85 to 95% of land falling Hurricanes have not occurred by August 15.

Days grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 74.4 degrees at the beginning of the month to 65.0 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight decreases from 13 hours 48 minutes on August 1 to 12 hours 54 minutes on August 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

August 1 Sunrise 6:00 AM Sunset 7:47 PM
August 15 Sunrise 6:09 AM Sunset 7:34 PM
August 31 Sunrise 6:20 AM Sunset 7:14 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Cancer, The Crab.

Mercury, magnitude -0.3 in Leo, The Lion, is lost in the glow of the Sun this August.

Venus, magnitude -4.6 in Leo, The Lion, is lost in the glow of the Sun. She will pass between the Sun and the Earth, or reach “Inferior Conjunction” on August 13.

She by months end she will reemerge into the morning sky rising around 4:30 AM, almost 2 hours before the Sun.

Earth, magnitude -4.0 as viewed from the Sun, and her Moon is in the constellation Capricornus, The Sea Goat.

Mars, magnitude +1.7, with his Moons Phobos and Deimos in Leo, The Lion, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 8.8, is in Virgo, The Virgin.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.3, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, in Aries, The Ram, is an early morning object, rising at the first of the month, around midnight and reaching 64° above the southeast horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks just before 6 AM.

By months end he rises around 11 PM and reaches 71° above the eastern horizon around 5 AM and fades into the dawn an hour later.

Saturn, magnitude +0.6, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer,

He is a morning object, becoming visible around 10 PM and reaching his highest altitude of 45° above the southern horizon just after 2:30 AM, and fading from view at dawn.

He rises earlier and earlier as the month progresses and by months end he will rise at 8 PM and reach high highest point 44° above the southern horizon just after midnight and fades from view at sunrise.

He will reach peak brightness as he reaches “Opposition” or lies directly opposite of the Sun at 3 AM on August 27.

Uranus, magnitude +5.9, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, has emerged from behind the sun and becomes visible half past midnight and reaches an altitude of 51° above the eastern horizon before fading into the dawn.

By month end he rises around 10:30 PM, reaching an altitude of 74° above the southern horizon before fading as dawn breaks.

Neptune, magnitude 7.7, and his 14 moons and ring, is in Pisces, The Fish, is a morning object becoming accessible using a telescope at midnight at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon & reaching his highest point at 54° above the southern horizon around 4 AM and will only drop to 52° as twilight fades in.

By months end he will become accessible around 10 PM and will reach high highest point in the sky around 2 AM, 53° above the southern horizon, and finally disappearing from view three hours later in the twilight.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim +14.4 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of +17.4 in Bootes the Herdsman

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon S/2015 (136472) 1, nicknamed MK1 by the discovery team, shines faintly at magnitude +17.2 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.7 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

At least five additional bodies with the preliminary criteria for identifying dwarf planets, and though not “officially” declared as such, are generally called dwarf planets by astronomers as well.

90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude +19.1 between Hydra, the Sea Monster and Serpens the Snake.

50000 Quaoar,and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Ophiucus the Serpent Bearer,

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.9 in Taurus the Bull.

225088 Gonggong, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius the Water Bearer.

Unnamed Dwarf Planet 2014 UZ224, nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.1 in Eridanus the River.

Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, an asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is currently 12,405,728,855 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 29 minutes and 56.3561 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 45 years, 10 months and 17 days is 14,872,856,766 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 10 minutes and 40 Seconds from Earth as of 2:13 PM, July 22, 2023, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

There are 1,299,492 known asteroids as of July 22, per NASA.

5470 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of July 11, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

August’s Full Moon will occur August 1 at 1:33 PM or 18:33 UTC. August’s Full Moon was called “Fruit Moon” in Cherokee Folklore, “Women’s Moon” among the Choctaw, “Sturgeon Moon” by the Algonquin because the large sturgeon fish of the Great Lakes and other major lakes were more easily caught at this time of year. This moon has also been known as the Green Corn Moon and the Grain Moon and at one time was called “Dog Days Moon” by the Colonial Americans.

This is the second of four Supermoons for 2023. The Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.

During a Full Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -12.7.

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on August 1, when she will be 222,022 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur August 8 at 5:28 AM CDT or 10:28 UTC.

During the Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.

The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the night of August 12 & 13, with 50 to 60 meteors per hour. This shower, produce by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1862, ranks as the best of the best, famous for producing bright meteors. The shower runs annually from July 17 to August 24. It peaks this year on the night of August 12 and the morning of August 13.

The crescent moon should not be too much of a problem this year. Skies should still be dark enough for a good show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Perseus, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

New Moon will occur at 4:39 AM CDT or 09:39 UTC on August 16. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on August 16, when she will be 252,671 miles from Earth.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur August 24 at 4:57 AM CDT or 9:57 UTC.

On August 24 a rare event will occur as the Moon passes in front of the bright star Antares
in the constellation Scorpius.

This event, called an “Occultation” will be visible from the contiguous United States, Mexico and Canada.

The occultation will be visible from Birmingham beginning with the disappearance of Antares behind the Moon at 21:47 CDT or 02:47 UTC August 25 in the south-western sky at an altitude of 18.6°, and ends with the star’s reappearance at 22:37 CDT or 3:37 UTC August 24 at an altitude of 11.5 degrees.

The astronomical term “Occultation” is defined by Merriam-Webster as “Middle English occultacion, borrowed from Latin occultātiōn-, occultātiō “concealment, interruption of light from a celestial body,” from occultāre “to prevent from being seen, conceal, keep secret” + -tiōn- -tiō, suffix of verbal action”. It has nothing to do with the “occult” or any other type of witchy poo type of stuff.

Once in a blue moon you get a Blue Moon, one definition of which is “two full moons in a calendar month”.

On August 30 we will have a second Full Moon, which qualifies as a Blue Moon, which is also the third Supermoon of 2023.

This phase will occur 8:35 PM CDT or 01:35 UTC.

As with the Supermoon on August 1, the Moon will be near its closest approach to the Earth and may look slightly larger and brighter than usual.


NEWSFLASH!!!

“SMALL ASTEROID CAPTURED HOURS PRIOR TO EARTH IMPACT” says the various blurbs flashing on my laptop.

Hmmm….I thought. One could think that an inbound asteroid was intercepted and “captured” before impact. Some hyperdynamicthermofubbulator they’ve kept secret just grabbed hold of the sucker and captured it, saving the planet, one could conclude. If such technology suddenly appeared.

So, I naturally was curious.

On March 11, 2022, “Apollo Near-Earth Asteroid” 2022 EB5, a small 2 meter or 6.56 foot asteroid struck the Earth’s atmosphere at 11 miles per second and promptly disintegrated over the Arctic Ocean southwest of the Norwegian island Jan Mayen.

It produced a 4 kiloton fireball that was detected in Greenland and Norway and a bright flash was seen in Iceland.

So….it burned up in the atmosphere and did not “impact” the Earth.

It wasn’t exactly “captured” in the “grabbed the sucker” sense either.

Astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky at Konkoly Observatory’s Piszkéstető Station in Mátra Mountains, Hungary photographed the object about two hours before impact.

So, it was “captured” on film.

I guess “Asteroid photographed before burning up over Arctic” just isn’t dramatic enough.

Apollo Class Asteroids are a group of Near Earth, Earth orbit crossing asteroids named after 1862 Apollo, discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth in the 1930s.

The largest of the 17,540 Apollos, is 1866 Sisyphus. A 4.35 mile rock which sport its own a tiny moon.

1866 Sisyphus is believed to be similar size to the Chicxulub object whose impact in the Yucatan is believed to have caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs, approximately 66 million years ago.

There are also other Earth orbit crossing asteroids, namely 2,445 Aten asteroids.

Other Near Earth Asteroids are the 30 odd Atira Class Asteroids, which orbit just inside the Earth’s orbit and the 11,232 Amor Class Asteroids, which orbit just beyond the Earth’s orbit.

“It’s not safe out here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it’s not for the timid.” – Q, Star Trek The Next Generation


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Special thanks to Lucy The Kitten who has “helped” me typ32hjbvvvvv344444 444444444444444444444e this.

This month’s meeting will be on August 8 at 7PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

ALERT / National Weather Service Birmingham Coverage Area

  • ALERT covers the BMX county warning area. Presently, this includes: Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Etowah, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lamar, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Marion, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston