Hi Everyone,

The 2025 Birminghamfest is almost here, and I hope you can attend!

This event will be held at the Trussville Civic Center on Friday February 28 from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM and Saturday, March 1 from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

The address is:

5381 Trussville-Clay Road
Trussville, AL 35173

There will be forums, vendors, ham radio testing and a flea market with parts and equipment needing a new home.

Admission is $10, which includes 1 prize ticket. Children under 12 will be admitted for free.

For more information go to http://birminghamfest.org/

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ALERT Election Committee

In accordance with ARTICLE V, Section 1 of the ALERT Constitution and Bylaws, this month’s meeting will feature the selection of the two person Nominating Committee for the upcoming elections in May.

President will appoint a Nominating Committee of 2 voting members. That Committee will contact members about serving as officers. Since there are no term limits for current officers, if the Committee can hornswoggle them into serving another term, or rather, continue in the fine job they have been doing, that’s copacetic.

The Nominating Committee will present its report at the April meeting for all the voting members to review. Nominations from the floor will be accepted at the meeting of the elections in May.

Originally the elected Officers of ALERT were:

President
Vice-President / Membership
Treasurer
Secretary
NWS Liaison
Operations
Training
Public Information

Over the years, as circumstances dictated, the process has evolved or perhaps devolved, out of necessity, both due to the chaos wreaked by Covid 19, and a shortage of willing volunteers so that the elected positions have become:

President
Vice President
Treasurer & Membership
Secretary

NWS Liaison has been faithfully performed for decades by Russell KV4S. If no one ever says thank you for this, Russell, know that what you are doing is much appreciated. You are the backbone of the callout process. Thank you so very much!

Operations, Training and Public Relations duties have been met informally by other members or Officers, even though there might not have been an “official” Official in place.

As to the Board of Directors, it is composed of the President, immediate past President, Trustee of the station and 2 operational “At Large” members appointed by the President.

I have served as the 2 year “At Large” member for some time now, and I have done an abysmal job of doing so, as job duties and other circumstances have kept me absent from meetings, either live or via Teams, which I can’t seem to remember how to work. For this I sincerely apologize.

Both “At Large” positions are open for appointment by the President in 2025. They are not elected positions; the President chooses them.

Please plan on attending the March meeting & don’t be shy about volunteering to serve on the Committee or to make yourself available for a leadership role. All it takes is a willing heart and once elected a commitment to faithfully fulfill your duties of office to the best of your abilities.

We need you to be actively involved in ALERT’s leadership and to help us build a strong ALERT organization for the future.

Your time has arrived.

Your ALERT needs you.

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A Hitch Hiker’s Guide To The Radio Frequency Spectrum – Part 1

Amateur Radio is one of the most enjoyable, “coolest” hobbies around. Whether you enjoy contesting, looooooooooong draaaaawn out rag chews, public service or just lurking and listening, there is something out there waiting for you.

There are so many options and modes out there, from FT8 and other digital forms, voice and CW, and so many bands to choose from. Each with its own unique characteristics and range. Whether you want to talk locally or across the world, if the Sun cooperates, and depending on the time of day, there is a place for you.

The following are the band plans for the ham radio world, with a few other realms thrown in.

By learning these you can know where to effectively transmit and how to know when something special is occurring. For instance, band openings bringing in stations you usually don’t hear on a regular basis. By learning, listening and using these bands you can tell the usual from the unusual. You can be the “expert” on your favorite band in a very short time.

As the line from the old song Limbo Rock says “how low can you go?”

And the answer for us is waaaaay down low. Or as Elvis sang “way on dooooown.”

The lowest Amateur Radio Band is the 2,200 Meter Band, which is the only Low Frequency / Long Wave Amateur Radio band.

2,200 Meters, which stretches from 135.7 – 137.8 kHz, is available for General, Advanced and Extra licensees for CW, phone and data operations with 1 Watt EIRP.

This band is heavily affected by natural and manmade interference and distance is limited by signal absorption by the D layer of the ionosphere during the daytime, not unlike the AM Broadcast Band, similarly after sunset longer distances can be achieved.

The equipment used is usually homebrew and very slow speed CW or QRSS seems to be the preferred mode.

Most modern HF ham radios can receive this frequency range, as usually they cover from 30 – 100 kHz to 30.000 MHz. There is a problem though, in that many of these receivers, for example the Yaesu FT-450 & Kenwood TS-570, automatically activate a 20 dB attenuator below 1.8 MHz, which effective kills weak signal reception below 1.8 MHz, including the AM Broadcast Band. Much to the chagrin of AM DXer’s like me. The tiny Yaesu FT-817 does not do this, however, so my hope is not lost.

The best receiver I have used for this realm is an ancient Radio Shack DX-300 receiver and a homemade loop antenna. With that and 1,000 feet or so of random wire going along a fence line. I could receive the Russian Alpha Navigation Beacons on 10.9 kHz.

If one wishes to use this band they are required to first register with the Utilities Technology Council online at https://utc.org/plc-database-amateur-notification-process, giving their intent to operate by submitting their call signs, the intended bands of operation, and the coordinates of their antenna’s fixed location.

Amateur stations are permitted to commence operations after a 30 day period unless UTC notifies the station that its fixed location is within one kilometer or 0.621 miles of Power Line Carrier (PLC) systems operating on the same or overlapping frequencies. This is intended to ensure that amateur stations are located beyond a minimum separation distance from PLC transmission lines, which helps promote shared use of the bands.

Though the US currently has no detailed band plan, the IARU Region 1 (Africa, Europe, Middle East, and northern Asia) band plan may serve as a guide

135.7–136.0 kHz – Station Tests and transatlantic reception window
136.0–137.4 kHz – Telegraphy
137.4–137.6 kHz – Digital modes
137.6–137.8 kHz – Very slow telegraphy centered on 137.7 kHz

Just above this band lies a sparsely used AM broadcast band stretching from 148.5 and 283.5 kHz used in Europe, Africa, and large parts of Asia.

Nestled in this band is a real of critters known as a “LowFERs”.

LowFERs or “Low Frequency Experimental Radio”, are unlicensed experimental stations that operate below the AM Broadcast Band from 160 – 190 kHz, with up to 1 Watt using a 3 meter (9.84 feet) antenna.

Most LowFER activity is in the form of CW beacons, though actual CW QSO’s do occur, and with good band conditions and a lot of luck, 100 – 300 miles or more range is possible during winter nights.

LowFER activity is hindered by interference from power line control carriers, utility stations and if the conditions are VERY good, the broadcasters from Europe and Africa.

From 190 – 525 kHz lie the realm of Aviation Non Directional Beacons. Though there are still some that cheerfully send their CW ID’s, such as “BH” from Birmingham’s Mcden NDB on 224 kHz, many have shut down, opting for satellite options instead. In the 1970’s & 80’s the band was a jingle jangle of CE ID’s from all over the Southeast. It was fun using an aeronautical chart trying to figure out where the signals that we’re drifting in and out we’re located.

Crossing 300 kHz we enter the Medium Frequency / Medium Wave bands

Within this spread we find the first Medium Frequency ham band – the 630 Meter Band.

From 405 to 525 kHz lies the low Medium Wave Maritime Band. Nestled within that band is the 630 Meter Amateur Band

630 Meters, which stretches from 473 – 479 kHz, is available for General, Advanced and Extra licensees for CW, phone and data operations with 5 Watt EIRP, except in Alaska within 496 from Russia, where hams are limited to 1 Watt EIRP.

This band has the same propagation characteristics as the lower AM Broadcast Band – for example during the day I can receive country music from WSM in Nashville on 650 kHz, 180 miles away and at night elevator music from “Radio Enciclopedia” – CMBR in Havana on 530 kHz, 766 miles away.

One informal band plan is:

472.0 – 479.0 kHz – Telegraphy
474.2 kHz CW Calling Frequency
474.5 – 479.0 kHz – Digital Modes
476.0 – 479.0 kHz – SSB

As with 2,200 Meters, users must first register with the Utilities Technology Council online at https://utc.org/plc-database-amateur-notification-process/.

You need to only register once for each band

From 530 to 1700 kHz lies the AM Broadcast Band, which in the Americas are divided into 10 kHz spaced channels. In the rest of the world the channels use 9 kHz spacing. In fact, during exceptional conditions, stations from Europe may appear between the 10 kHz US, Canadian and Mexican stations.

From Birmingham I hear signals out to 180 miles and at night the entire eastern United States and Canada, as well as Cuba and Mexico. The Farthest west I have received from Birmingham is KSL 1160 kHz in Salt Lake City and PJB3 800 kHz from Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles, very late at night when youth allowed me to stay up all night listening to static and left no ill effect. Unfortunately, the Bluebird of Youth flew south for the winter one day and decided to stay.

One asset of the AM Broadcast band that may prove crucial are Primary Entry Point Radio Stations

Primary Entry Point, or “PEP” stations, officially known as the National Public Warning System, are a network of 77 privately owned commercial and non-commercial radio broadcast stations, usually in the medium wave AM broadcast band, that cooperatively participate with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public before, during, and after a national or local emergency.

PEP stations are located throughout the country and have a direct link to FEMA and serve as the primary broadcast source for Presidential National Emergency Alert System (EAS) messages. PEP stations network to other broadcast stations to disseminate messages throughout the country.

In a widespread disaster they would be vital information sources if the local infrastructure is down.

During more localized emergencies State and local public safety officials can utilize EAS and FEMA PEP stations when they are not in use for National EAS warning messages.

PEP stations are “hardened” with additional broadcasting equipment, backup communications equipment, power generators, fuel systems, emergency provisions, a rest area, and an air filtration system. The stations have been enhanced into shelters with increased survivability from chemical, biological, radiological air protection and protection from an electromagnetic pulse or EMP.

They are designed to enable them to continue broadcasting information to the public during and after a catastrophic national event.

North Alabama’s PEP station is WJOX 690 kHz in Birmingham, which normally broadcasts at 50,000 watts during the day and only 500 watts during nighttime hours. But, as they say “I bet they can crank that puppy up to full power if they needed to.”

If there was a national emergency FEMA’s PEP National Operating Center would signal the state’s Point Entry Station, in our case WJOX, which in turn will signal state relay, the Alabama Public Television Network which in turn signal State Public Radio Network and Global Security System Satellite Net, composed of broadcast stations, such as in Birmingham, WJOX AM 690 kHz, WJOX FM 94.5 MHz, WZZK FM 104.7 MHz, WUAL FM 91.5 MHz in Tuscaloosa and so forth. From there the notification is spread on down the emergency notification and outlet line.

Other PEP stations of note would be WSM 650 kHz in Nashville, TN, which I can receive day or night, WWL 870 kHz in New Orleans and KMOX 1120 kHz in St. Louis, Mo. All of which are standard features of the nighttime AM radio band.

For a full map of PEP Radio Stations go to Primary Entry Point (PEP) AM Radio Stations – Miscellaneous – Fort Worth Forum

For more information on Alabama’s plan see 2017-ALABAMA-EAS-PLAN-072717.pdf

In the early days of radio, hams we’re considered a nuisance and so we were relegated to the “useless” frequencies above 200 Meters or above 1500 kHz. Then the “useless frequencies” proved to be capable of long distance communications and so the government said “gimme those frequencies back”, reserving certain bands for Amateur use.

The oldest ham band is the 160 Meter Band.

160 Meters, stretching from 1.800 – 2.000 MHz is sometimes referred to as the “Top Band” as it had the longest wavelength or the “Gentleman’s Band”, as it is known for long casual contacts. .

Some Contests which are held on 160 Meters are:

CQ 160 Meter Contest – CW – January
CQ 160 Meter Contest – SSB – February
ARRL 160 Meter Contest – December
Stew Perry Top Band Challenge – March, June, October and December

For specific dates go to WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Perpetual Calendar
The ARRL band plan is as follows:

1.800 – 2.000 MHz – CW
1.800 – 1.810 MHz – Digital Modes
1.810 MHz CW QRP
1.840 MHz FT8
1.843 – 2.000 MHz LSB, SSTV, and other wideband modes
1.910 MHz LSB QRP
1.995 – 2.000 MHz Experimental
1.999 – 2.000 MHz Beacons

Propagation is similar to that of the upper AM Broadcast Band.

The following is a list of tips, slanted toward the DX aspect of operation on 160 Meters, to help you enjoy your experience on 160.

Put out as much wire as possible for your transmit antenna. This is the biggest drawback to operating on 160 Meters – antenna length. A simple 160 meter dipole antenna is 250 long. My dinky yard is nowhere close to that size. A full sized antennat wouldn’t even fit my next two neighbors yards, though there is a temptation to sneak one in. “Burglar protection”. They might believe it. I’m going to figure something out sooner than later.

Some say, “work with the utility company and/or neighbors to fix noise sources”. Right, good luck with that.

“Listen, listen, listen”. That’s a good idea, on any band, especially if you are calling CQ. Listen for a couple of seconds before droning on. Many call CQ, few seem to listen.

Know when the desired path is in or very near darkness. Pay particular attention to sunrise and sunset times. Check paths to the southwest at your sunrise and southeast at your sunset.

In between the ham and medium and shortwave bands are marine, aeronautical, military and fixed bands and rogue shortwave stations – licensed but not located in a normal band. These transmissions, except for broadcast, are USB, RTTY and occasional CW.

Though some believe everything has switched to satellite, the world’s militaries still use MF and HF frequencies. Usually unencrypted and usually using USB. They also use the area from 30 to 35 MHz FM. That’s why you see Humvees with CB like whip antennas. They are using Low VHF frequencies. Again, usually unencrypted. If 10 meters is open and you have a scanner, scan those VHF Low frequencies. You never know what you may hear.

Here’s another operating hint – if a ham band seems dead, tune above and below them. The area between the ham bands may be crawling with signals, which lets you know that the ham band isn’t dead at all, just no one is talking. So, go back to that band and start calling CQ – someone may be just waiting for your signal.

Moving up the dial, you will find activity on the 2.000 – 2.300 MHz – Marine Band

The 120 Meter Mediumwave Broadcast Ban, is from 2.300 – 2.495 MHz and don’t forget WWV in Ft. Collins, Co and WWVH in Kekaha, HI which broadcast time and frequency standard signals on 2.500 MHz.

Another Marine Band lies from 2.450 – 2.850 MHz and an Aeronautical Band lies at 2.850 – 3.155 MHz.

Who knows what you may find.

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Mark’s Almanac

Originally called Martius, March is the third month & first month of the Roman calendar. March is named for Mars, the god of war, and was the start of the military campaign season.

The beginning of “Meteorological Spring”, which is based on changes in temperature and precipitation, not the solar angle, is March 1

March is a wet month. Most floods occur in March and rainfall averages around 6 inches.
Tornadic activity sharply increases in March with there being an increase of 2.2 times the number of tornadoes over the February amount. The focal point for this tornadic activity is the Gulf States.

March is the hail maximum for the Deep South. This is due both to the number of thunderstorms & due to the freezing level still being near the surface. This allows hail to form at lower altitudes and reach the ground intact, as opposed to summer months, when the freezing level is higher and near surface level temperatures are higher melting the hail into liquid before impact.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2024 there has been only one Hurricane to occur. A 100 MPH unnamed Hurricane which affected the Lesser Antilles in March 6- 9, 1908. Some sources also cite a pre-Civil War Tropical Storm also occurring, but others do not.

South Atlantic Tropical activity doesn’t have a sharp peak as the North Atlantic season does in September, however currently March has a thin lead in activity, as from 1957 – 2024 there have been 92 identified Tropical or Subtopical Storms, including the only known South Atlantic Hurricane – Hurricane Catarina which struck Brazil March 28, 2004.

Brazilian authorities at first were unwilling to admit that Catarina was a hurricane, for up until that time is was considered impossible for the South Atlantic to generate a tropical system, due to wind shear, cold sea surface temperatures and the lack of storm systems from which a storm could develop. With extensive damage from an impossible storm looking at them, they finally reluctantly agreed that maybe NOAA’s opinion was right.

Meanwhile, back in Alabama…

Killing frosts are gone and the last average frost is on March 16.

March is a snow month for Alabama & there is a 45% chance of snow up to one inch, and an 8% chance of one inch or more.

The good news is that there is hope on the horizon as Spring will arrive at Vernal Equinox on March 19 at 10:06 PM CDT or 03:06 UTC March 20.

The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, or Autumnal Equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Remember to get the eggs out, as it is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of equinox.

You might also think about the Aurora, for Auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year, the interplanetary magnetic field or IMF can link up with Earth’s magnetic field, prying open cracks. Solar wind then pours in to fuel displays of the aurora borealis with no geomagnetic storm required. Researchers call this the Russell-McPherron Effect, named after the physicists who first described it in the 1970s

If you do see them be cautioned though, for among some northern Native American tribes it is said that as you are looking at the northern lights do not wave sing or whistle at them. Alerted to your presence the spirits of the lights will come down and take you away.

This month sees the return of Ruby Throated Humming Birds and the Giant Yellow Sulfur Butterflies that migrated south during the Fall and the clouds of pollen that we love so well.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 49.0 degrees at the beginning of the month to 60.7 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 11 hours 28 minutes on March 1 to 12 hours 30 minutes on March 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

March 1 Sunrise 6:16 AM Sunset 5:44 PM
March 15 Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 6:55 PM
March 31 Sunrise 6:36 AM Sunset 7:07 PM *Daylight Savings Time

Why the sunrise is later midmonth as opposed to the first and the last of the month is due to a combination of the quirks in the Earth’s orbit, it’s axial tilt and it being near equinox affecting the length of day based on sunlight as opposed to the measurement of time based on the Earth’s rotation.

Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM on March 9. So, remember to “spring forward” one hour. This, of course means I will lose one hour of “beauty sleep”, which is something I desperately need.

I don’t particularly care for Daylight Savings Time. I share the same opinion I found on the “Republic Of Lakotah” website:

When told the reason for daylight saving time the old Native American said…“Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.”

Saint Patrick’s Day is Thursday March 17, and you might better participate by wearing a Touch O’ The Green or you will be plagued by leprechauns and gnomes. Not a pleasant experience, I can assure you.

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

Mercury, magnitude -1.3, in Aquarius The Water Bearer, is an early evening object.

At the beginning of the month, he will become visible around 5:58 PM CST, 10° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will continue to be observable until he sets around 6:53 PM CST.

Mercury will reach his greatest separation from the Sun, or Greatest Eastern Elongation, February 7, and will reach his highest point in the sky in his February – March 2025 evening apparition on February 8, when he will be shining brightly at magnitude -0.4, 16° above the horizon.

By midmonth he will become invisible, having receded into the glow of the Sun on February 12.

Mercury’s 88 day orbit around the Sun will carry it to its closest point to the Sun – its perihelion on March 4.

Mercury will pass between the Sun and the Earth, or be in Inferior Conjunction on March 24.

Venus, magnitude –4.9, in Piscis, The Fish, shines brightly in evening sky.

At the first of the month, she becomes visible at around 5:58 PM CST, 25° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 23 minutes after the Sun at 8:06 PM CST.

As the month progresses she will rapidly recede towards the Sun.

By midmonth he becomes visible at 8:09 PM CDT, 8° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hour and 1 minute after the Sun at 8:55 PM CDT.

She will disappear from the night sky on March 16 and will pass between the Sun and the Earth, or be in Inferior Conjunction on March 24.

She will emerge in the predawn skies on March 30, rising at 6:35 AM CDT, 1 hour and 0 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of 8° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 7:19 AM CDT.

Earth and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in Virgo, The Virgin.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +9.0, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude +0.5, in Gemini, The Twins, is an evening object.

At the beginning of the month, he will become visible around 6:05 PM CST, 59° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 8:21, 82° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 2:45 AM CST, when he sinks below 9° above the north-western horizon.

The Moon will pass 1.7° north of Mars on March 8.

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 8:20 PM CDT, 71° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 9:34 PM CDT, 81° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:52 AM CDT, when he sinks below 9° above the north-western horizon.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 8:35 PM CDT, 80° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 8:49 PM CDT, 80° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:01 AM CDT, when he sinks below 10° above the western horizon.

Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.4, is in Taurus, The Bull, is an early evening object and is receding into the evening twilight.

At the beginning of the month, he will become visible around 5:58 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 12:53 AM CST.

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 8:09 PM CDT, 70° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 2:05 AM CDT.

By the end of the month, he will become visible at around 8:21PM CDT, 58° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 1:12 AM CDT.

Saturn, magnitude +1.1, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

Saturn will pass behind the Sun, or be in Solar Conjunction on March 12.
Earth will cross Saturn’s ring plane on March 23 and his rings will disappear from view.

Saturn, like the Earth, is tilted on its axis. Saturn’s axial tilt is 26.7°, and as the planet’s 29.4 year orbit progresses, the rings angle changes with time as viewed from the Earth. Every 13 to 15 years, or about every half Saturn year, the rings will appear edge on when viewed from Earth.

This provides scientists with opportunities to study the rings structure and thickness.

Unfortunately, this year, the planet will be masked by the Sun.

Uranus, magnitude +5.8, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, early evening object, now receding into evening twilight.

At the first of the month he becomes visible at around 6:42 PM CST, 57° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 11:24 PM CST.

By midmonth he will become visible around 8:53 PM CDT, 43° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 12:31 AM CDT.

At month’s end he visible at around 9:06 PM CDT, 28° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 26 minutes after the Sun at 11:32 PM CDT.

Neptune, magnitude +7.8, and his 14 moons and ring, in Pisces, The Fish, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

He will pass close to the Sun or be in Conjunction on March 19,

Dwarf Planet Pluto, the largest Dwarf Planet, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.6 in Capricornus, The Sea Goat.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, her ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.3 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 +17.1 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris, the second largest Dwarf Planet, 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 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 in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer.
.
50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Pisces, The Fish.

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, the third largest Dwarf Planet, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Pisces, The Fish.

2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 in Eridanus, The River.

120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea glows at magnitude 20.7 in Gemini, The Twins. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers saying she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagreeing 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.

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 12,235,630,414 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 14 minutes and 43 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 47 years, 5 month and 16 days is 15,566,282,017 miles, or in Light Time, 23 hours, 12 minutes 42 Seconds from Earth as of 1:19 PM, February 21, 2025, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
Voyager – Mission Status (nasa.gov) & Voyager 1 | TheSkyLive

There are 1,438,652 known asteroids and 3,994 comets as of February 21, 2025 per NASA/JPL Solar Dynamics Website JPL Solar System Dynamics (nasa.gov).

Near Earth Object, asteroid 99942 Apophis, is expected to pass within 19,794 miles of the Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.

Apophis, magnitude +20.1, in Aquarius The Waterbearer, is 160,717,505 miles or 1511 days from the Earth as of 1:33 PM, , February 21, 2025.

A newcomer to our world of worries is an Apollo Type (Earth Crossing) Near Earth Object, asteroid 2024 YR4.

Discovered by the Chilean station of the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) at Río Hurtado on 27 December 2024, this 131 – 295 foot rock had a 3.1% chance of striking the Earth on Wednesday, December 22, 2032. Now it has been reduced to 0.001% to according to the European Space Agency or 0.0027% according to NASA.

If this object we’re to strike the Earth, it would NOT be an extinction level event, but would be large enough to destroy a city. The current risk corridor is a band near the equator stretching from just west of Central America, crossing northern South America, crossing the Atlantic, central Africa and southern Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Sea and Central India.

2024 YR4 has visited us before. It passed 515,000 miles from the Earth on December 25, 2024, two days before it’s discovery, and will pass 4,965,000 miles ± 122,000 miles on December 17, 2028.

With NASA’s estimated diameter, mass, and density for 2024 YR4, if it were to impact Earth at its predicted velocity at atmospheric entry of 10.76 miles per second, the asteroid would release energy equivalent to 7.8 megatons of TNT, causing damage as far as 50 miles from the impact site.

Due to its stony composition, this would more likely produce a meteor air burst rather than an impact crater if it strikes a continent or a tsunami if it struck an ocean.

There is also a 1% chance that 2024 Yr4 will hit the Moon, with a potential impact zone extending from just south of Mare Crisium, a solidified lava plain, to Tycho, an ancient crater, all located on the visible side of the waning gibbous Moon.

The 2028 encounter will allow astronomers to tweak the forecast, which I wouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) if it turns out to be a non-event.

2024 YR4, magnitude +24.7, in Cancer, The Crab, is 54,089,35 Miles or 2861 days from the Earth as of 2:25 PM February 21, 2025

5,834 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of February 12, 2025, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on March , when she will be 224,916 miles from Earth.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur March 6 at 10:33 AM CST or 16:33 UTC.

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

March’s Full Moon will occur on March 14 at 1:56 AM CDT or 6:56 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as “Worm Moon”. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains.

This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, the Full Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

This month’s Full Moon is a Micromoon, as it is occurring as the Moon is near her farthest distance from the Earth, 249,398 miles

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

There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse on March 14. The eclipse, which some style as a Blood Moon will be visible throughout all North America, Mexico, Central America, and South America.

The eclipse will begin at 10:57 PM CDT
Partial Eclipse begins at 12:09 AM CDT
Total Eclipse begins at 1:26 AM CDT
Maximum eclipse will occur at 1:58 AM CDT
Total Eclipse ends at 2:31 AM CDT
Partial eclipse ends at 3:47 AM CDT
The eclipse ends at 5:00 AM CDT

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on March 23 when she will be 252,124 miles from Earth.

Vernal Equinox occurs at 4:01 AM CDT or 09:01 UTC March 20. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, autumnal equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

The name “Vernal” comes from the Latin vernālis, which means “of those things pertaining to the spring”.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur March 22, at 6:32 AM CST or 11:32 UTC.

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

New Moon will occur on March 29 at 6:02 AM CDT or 11:00 UTC. 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.

You have heard of a “Supermoon”, which occurs when a Full Moon occurs at her nearest point to the Earth. When a New Moon occurs near her closest point to Earth, in this case 222,902 miles, it is known as a Super New Moon.

Eclipses usually come in pairs. The second eclipse with be a Partial Solar Eclipse on March 29.

A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Moon covers only a part of the Sun, sometimes resembling a bite taken out of a cookie.

This partial eclipse will be visible throughout Greenland and most of northern Europe and northern Russia. It will be best seen from Canada with 93% coverage, but alas, it will still be dark in Birmingham.

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest distance from Earth on March 29 when she will be 222,530 miles from Earth.

The celestial carnivores are emerging from hibernation. After dinnertime at this time of year, five carnivore constellations are rising upright in a ragged row from the northeast to south. They’re all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right. These are The Great Bear, Ursa Major in the northeast, with the Big Dipper as its brightest part, Leo the Lion in the east, Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, The Lesser Dog, Canis Minor higher in the south-southeast, and The Greater Dog, bright Canis Major in the south.

Sirius, shining at magnitude −1.46, the brightest nighttime star, blazes high in the south on the meridian, in Canis Major by about 8 or 9 p.m. Using binoculars, you will find a fuzzy spot 4 degrees south of Sirius, directly below it when the constellation is directly South. Four degrees is somewhat less than the width of a typical binocular’s field of view.

That dim little patch of gray haze is open star cluster Messier 41, a small gravitationally bound group of 100 stars about 2,200 light-years away and moving away from us at 869 miles per second. Sirius, by comparison, is only 8.6 light-years away.

Canopus, shining at magnitude -0.72, making it the second-brightest star after Sirius, lies 36° almost due south of Sirius. That’s far enough south that it never appears above the horizon if you are above latitude 37° N, such as southern Virginia, southern Missouri and central California. Luckily we lie south of that latitude, with our horizon lying, in the case of Central Alabama, around latitude 33°.

Canopus is located in the southern constellation Carina, The Keel, part of the defunct constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts who searched for the Golden Fleece.

The constellation of Argo was introduced in ancient Greece. However, due to the massive size of Argo Navis and the sheer number of stars that required separate designation, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided Argo into three sections in 1763, including Carina, the Hull or Keel, Puppis, the Poop Deck, and Vela the Sails.

In the 19th century, these three became established as separate constellations, and were formally included in the list of 88 modern IAU constellations in 1930.

Canopus, 313 light years away, crosses low above the horizon, due south just 21 minutes before Sirius and is worthy of a peak.

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The ARRL International DX Contest, Sideband version is March 1
WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Contest Details & ARRL DX

The CQ Worldwide WPX Contest – Sideband version is March 29 WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Contest Details & CQ WPX – Rules

This month’s ALERT meeting will be on March 11 at 7PM.

The meeting will be held at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at the Shelby County Airport in Calera.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Wells
WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter

Hi Everyone ,

So far 2025 has proven to be a year for the weather record books, as we have seen North Alabama and South Alabama greeted by winter storms.

I usually don’t like cold weather, as my DNA is not structured for it, and it exceeds my body’s design specifications. In fact, doing genealogical research I found that the stork was supposed to drop me off in warm French Polynesia, but, due to a shipping error I ended up in cold Alabama instead.

That said, I like snow. To me it’s a grand adventure. A wonder of nature to be appreciated, with the whole world being turned into a living snow globe. A thing of dreams and Hallmark Movie nightmares.

Now, I’m sure if I lived in Erie Pennsylvania, with 97 feet of lake effect snow, I would feel otherwise But, I’m not there, so I am hoping that Central Alabama gets a blizzard also.

I want a blizzard too!

And, since “Blizzard Spotter” agrees with my definition of “Storm Spotter”…

Let it snow!

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Tales Of Bread & Milk

(An updated Article Originally Published In The February 2017 Newsletter)

As I was beginning this article, a message popped up on Facebook from a friend named “Ivy” saying “I realize that the entire population of Oklahoma needs bread and milk tonight…..Please watch, when you come out of Walmart pushing your cart and racing to your car like Mario Andretti, for other cars in the lot. It’s only by the grace of God that you weren’t hit.”

Now, before I get into the gist of this article, I will go ahead and apologize. If I am “tinkering” with sensitive sacred subjects, I don’t mean to step on toes. And, though I actually do know it all, I really don’t intend to sound like one, as I probably will.

Good old Bread and Milk, you know the drill. Let the slightest whisper of the word “snow” be mentioned and the bakeries have to shift into high gear, the wheat fields have to accelerate their growth and Elsie, and her sisters have to put in overtime to meet the sudden demand as crowds of humanity descend upon the stores and the milk and bread shelves rapidly empty out. All for an event that will last 48 hours, before the excessive heat warnings kick in.

But, why does this occur? Or as CNN put it “Is there something about snowstorms that makes us want to eat French toast and sit on the toilet?”

In researching this article, I did an online survey on a nationwide emergency preparedness group and sought out comments from the regular public as well. I found the results interesting.

First of all, in spite what you constantly hear from Northern and Western “transplants”, this phenomenon is not “a southern thing” at all. I already knew this; for I saw the shelves clear out in Oklahoma City, when I was snowed in by an actual blizzard in 2010. Also, I knew they did this in Boston, based on photographs and news reports during a nor’easter the previous year.

Oklahoma City and Boston are not alone. “People always clear the shelves of milk, eggs and bread,” said Paul Shipman, of the American Red Cross’s Connecticut chapter in Hartford. Who added “Well, the milk doesn’t do well without refrigeration, eggs are useless if you can’t cook them, and the bread is not going to provide much nutrition on its own. You need non-perishable food, water and other necessities to be safe.”

“David” in New York said “They do the same thing here in NY! It’s crazy that whenever there’s a threat of snow in excess of a couple of inches, people panic and run out to the stores and empty the shelves of milk, bread, and water.”

He added “I truly believe that most people really like the controversy. I see these people’s faces and I see not panic, but a sense of excitement. I know it’s weird, but I really do believe that some people like whatever rush of excitement involved with the whole process.”

“Tina” commented “My husband and I always chuckle about this….and it’s true. People in NJ have always done this…they buy milk, bread and eggs.”

Some of the most entertaining comments came from overseas. “In America when it snows people stock up on milk, bread and toilet paper. In Britain its whiskey and cat litter” one Brit said.

“Ted” from Birmingham England says “Tea. I’m British and I would stock up on Tea. I wouldn’t want to face an oncoming storm/war/zombie holocaust without plenty of cups of Tea.”

“Les” from Melbourne said, “In Australia, it’s Tim-Tams (chocolate cookies), Foster’s Lager and Chiko Rolls (an Australian offshoot of Chinese spring rolls).”

“Brad” in Liverpool explained British weather, which is not that very different from our own. “In the UK, our snowfalls don’t last long enough to bother stocking up. We get a day or two of widespread travel disruption, because we don’t have the infrastructure to deal with snow properly (understandable since we get maybe one moderate snowfall every 10 years), then it all melts. After we’ve scraped a few car wrecks off the roads and taken all the pensioners who died of hypothermia to the morgue, life gets back to normal quite quickly.

The likelihood of getting snowed in for long enough that you would run out of your normal stocks of food is practically zero here in the UK.”

“Cedric” from London chimed in “I think there are two comedy bits about this… something about stocking up on the most perishable items for when the power goes out, and something about a lot of people making French toast during disasters.”

As to the cat litter, in addition to using it on driveways, “Eric” from Worchester mentioned “after the water lines freeze, it also works well to fill a 5 gallon bucket with it halfway as a makeshift urinal. Which is important, especially if you’re riding out the storm in the pub.”

“Paul” in Manchester said “Meh, most suburban supermarkets in the UK will have an army of pensioners in the daytime clearing out the stocks of bread and milk. Their Blitz spirit tends to kick in at the slightest flurry of snow, as ‘rationing will undoubtedly occur’ if the snow goes above ankle height.”

So, we are far from alone in this tradition. But how did it start?

No one really knows when the bread and milk craze began. It is a modern phenomenon, as it takes a media rumor of the slightest possibility of a lonely snowflake to set the cascade in motion.

Some say that Pittsburgh is credited with starting the bread & milk frenzy during the onset of a blizzard on November 24, 1950. An article in a local newspaper referenced milk as “the one shortage that has hit all sections” and bread as being “doled out in some stores” because of a storm that ultimately brought almost 3 feet of snow.

Others give the credit to New Englanders. Per Accuweather: “It appears that New Englanders can take credit for the purchasing of milk and bread prior to the storm,” the site reported. “It was the monumental blizzard in 1978 that trapped many in homes for weeks that get at least some credit for the current tradition.”

But why does it occur at all?

Psychologist Judy Rosenberg of Los Angeles theorizes “Buying perishables is like saying, ‘the storm will be over soon, and I won’t be stuck in this situation for long.’” Whereas buying nonperishable items is admitting that you are probably doomed.

Psychotherapist Lisa Batemen from New York believes “The thought to get milk before a storm is followed by the action or compulsion to go out and stockpile it. In one way or another, we spend a lot of time and energy trying to feel in control, and buying things you might throw out still gives the person a sense of control in an uncontrollable situation.”

Both theories may be true, or it may be giving people too much credit for being cerebral.

Among my initial theories were:

1. Lack of training or knowledge in emergency preparedness.

As to this theory, some folk look at me like I’m crazy and roll their eyes as I harp “you can go to Sam’s and get a butane stove for $22 and 12 fuel cylinders from Amazon for $25. That’s warm food for an investment around $50 that you can use time & time again, for camping, cookouts, power outages, etc.” Just add some cans of stew, chili or dumplings or really anything you may want to cook, you can cook. You’re ready to rock and roll.”

I enjoy camping out; as a result, I have several options for cooking. I can use the grill, the butane stove mentioned, which requires no ventilation, “old school” liquid fuel Coleman stoves, propane Coleman stoves or backpacking stove, all of which would require a slightly opened window for ventilation.

“Yeah, but, who wants an open a window in a snowstorm?” “Dave” asked. “An Eskimo” I thought, since they always included a vent hole in the design of their igloos.

Some do see it my way, as “Len” from Ohio said “I learned from my grandmother to just put on a big pot of soup, or something that normally takes three days to eat anyway, when they say somethings coming. If we lose power, I’ll just fire up the grill.”

A “discussion” broke out with one lady, “Missy”, when some mentioned getting nutritious food, such as soup instead of the traditional B & M, and she said in a somewhat snarly exchange “but, what if I want French toast?”

“Do you usually eat French toast?” A guy named “Bill” asked.

“Uh, um, well no” she replied. When “Bill” asked when the last time was that she had had French toast period, she couldn’t answer except to say, “but what if I did want some, hmmm?”

Reading this gave me my second reason, which is:

2. Fear of not having access to a resource, whether it is a resource normally used or not.

For example, “Marie” stated “I normally throw out half a gallon of milk a week, and here I go buying two gallons of milk for a two day storm, just because ‘there may be none’, when I know good and well that the stores will be open and restocked in three days anyway. And I don’t even like French toast.”

3. People tend to act like sheep. When they see a few people doing something, they follow suit, whether it’s driving in the wrong direction, following some senseless fad, or in this case “They are pillaging Publix, so we better go pillaging too, while there’s something left to pillage” and so the feeding frenzy grows.
4. Habit or tradition. “Granny always got bread and milk, so I do it to”.

“It’s tradition. You need to make French toast when it snows! Don’t forget to buy eggs too!” said “Marion” in Washington DC.”

“Everyone has a ‘French toast party’ whenever it snows. It really shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. DUH.” said “Shonda” – Bronx NY

Roughly half of those commenting were of the French Toast Army.

Other possible reasons revealed by my survey were as follows:

”Tom” said, “I was told by a friend she likes to bake on snow days and milk is important to baking/eating said baked goods”.

“Ralph” said “If the wife says, ‘go get a truckload of bread’, Dear Lord go and get it, otherwise you will hear about it until the day you die.”

Several said that if they stuck bowl after bowl of cereal in front of their kids they would have blessed peace and quiet.

“Phil” said “I’ve seen children that have full on meltdowns if they don’t have milk, so for that reason I can see stocking up. If I had to spend days snowed in a house with a child screaming their head off cause they didn’t have milk, I think I’d rather the storm take me.”

“Kay” theorized “Maybe it’s just a matter of compressed time. Let’s say Monday is the last possible shopping day because it’s going to snow Tuesday. So, everyone who normally would shop on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday come in on Monday since they know they can’t go later in the week. So, what looks like hoarding is actually the normal week’s grocery shopping, just bought during the Bread & Milk Riot.”

Then there was the lady “Sue” in Clanton who said “You Karens can laugh all you want, but my kids isn’t goin hungry”.

To which “Gordan” replied, “There’s grilling, using Coleman stoves, butane stoves, propane stoves, Sterno stoves, soooo many options. Hot chili, soups, stew, chicken and dumplings, steaks, potatoes, anything that can be cooked over a flame…hmmm…kind of like when you go camping….nutritious, delicious, Beneficious, which ought to be a word, a veritable smorgasbord of culinary delights at one’s fingertips…you can have a steaming plate of pan seared salmon served in with garlic butter. Perched atop mashed potatoes with a side of asparagus. A toothsome, tasty treat guaranteed to tantalize the tastebuds and tickle the tonsils. A Bonafide epicurean delight…but instead you choose….(sigh)…soggy sandwiches…😝”

The other half of those responding was the French Toast Nonbelievers or Emergency Prepared.

“Tim” said “Never understood this myself, don’t these people have bread and milk in their homes already? Do they not have children? My kids would live off milk and P&B sandwiches if I let them.”

“Joe” commented “Seriously though, who only keeps a few days food in their house? I don’t ‘stock up’ on food and I could probably go a good month or two being well fed on what’s in my cabinets”.

“Doug” said “A lot of people really just do not plan on Monday past Thursday. My childhood taught me to think more about what ifs. We lived on a small farm, and had a good summer’s crop of mason jars filled in the root cellar, we were better off than a lot of people.

“Mark” said “I remember Mom & Dad always had a well-stocked pantry. Homemade preserves, canned home grown tomatoes, frozen vegetables and such. I guess that has influenced my thinking. “Never let the pantry go bare” I remember Mom saying & I try to follow this.”

“Bart” added “People seem to have an unreasonable fear of starving, forgetting the times when they were so sick that even the thought of food made them want to hurl. If they, in a ‘sickly’ condition could go a few days without food and it didn’t kill them, why the thought that a couple of days without food, and them healthy, will kill them is beyond me. Now if kids or special needs persons are involved that would change the theory. I guess that’s where the ‘pre’ in ‘preparedness’ comes in.’”

Of course, the rush is not limited to bread or milk. Toilet paper and booze rank high among targets.

Toilet paper I can understand. If there is even the slightest chance you will run out of the Morning Paper, you would be wise to grab some. I fact if your survival plan centers on eating milk and Captain Crunch for five days straight, it would behoove you to have gracious plenty. You wouldn’t want to get caught with your pants down.

As to booze, I may step on a few toes here. Last year after a round of winter weather the coworkers were discussing their adventures. One lady came to me asking for pain meds as she was still very hung over. “I spent the whole time drunk” she said. Then she suddenly got very defensive and huffy “well there was nothing else to do.” She snarled. As if I had said even a single word.

Once there was a discussion on an emergency preparedness group & the question arose “who packs liquor in their emergency supplies. Some said they did, most citing medicinal or “bartering” reasons, and a few for “recreational reasons, to take the edge off”. Many said they packed none.

My response was “Not to beat anyone over the head with a tambourine, but, if there was ever a time I would want to be ‘about my wits’ and sharp minded it would be during an emergency, where you may have to react and react very fast. For me to do something that will compromise that ability seems a foolish move.”

Many make a “booze snow haul” with the express purpose of getting completely wasted and passing out, which I have never understood. For it leaves you totally vulnerable, totally defenseless and absolutely helpless. Anything could happen to you. A fire breaks out, and you are dead. Anyone can do whatever their cold hearts want to do to you, and you are completely helpless. But, to each his own I guess.

As I close, I found that there is a clear dividing line between the two camps. The subject of which
can trigger strong emotions, with one side feeling it is a ridiculous spectacle carried on by ill-informed, ill-prepared masses, who just help perpetuate stereotypes of ignorance, and the other side feeling that the naysayers are a dimwitted judgmental lot, making a big deal over nothing, and rather stupid for not understanding the “common sense of it all, that without power bread, milk, and sandwiches are the only things we can eat”. “It’s not that it’s not that hard to figure out, it’s not rocket science, after all.”

So, there you go, both sides drawing a line in the snow, waiting, waiting and waiting for enough snowflakes to arrive so they make a snowball to chunk at each other.

In the end the reasons for and against the Bread & Milk Rush are as varied as the population itself.

I remember the “Planters Theorem” – which states that “whether you are a walnut, a chestnut or a Brazil nut, it doesn’t matter. In the end were all just a bunch of mixed nuts anyway.”

Perhaps the most important question of all was that of “Ed” in Milwaukee – “Why is it that Walmart will have 25 checkout lines and only 2 open, with 500 people crowding trying to escape before the glaciers start moving in?” Why indeed.

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Birmingham NWS Spring 2025 Spotter Courses

The Birmingham NWS Office will be offering several online and in person Basic and Advanced Spotter Courses this Spring. 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 need 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, February 27 6:30 – 830PM Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5612889656875108192

Basic Class Thursday, March 6 6:30 – 8:30 PM Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6525512895232151899

Basic Class Tuesday, March 11 1:00 – 3:00 PM Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5602553148063006303

Basic Class Tuesday, March 18 6:00 – 8:30 PM Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5978459680925235293

Advanced Class Thursday, March 27 6:30 – 8:30 PM Class Registration Link:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4091759300312812117

In Person:

Basic Class – Etowah County Tuesday, February 11 6:00 – 8:00 PM Downtown Civic Center
623 Broad Street
Gadsden, AL
Parking Entrance in Rear

Basic Class – Clay County Sunday, February 23 2 :00 – 4:00 PM County Line Fire
Department
1640 County Line Road
Wadley, AL 36276

Send questions, comments, or inquires to gerald.satterwhite@noaa.gov

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’s microclimate that may need to be considered in assessing the observed phenomena. Consider this online course as supplemental information.

Also, Severe Weather Awareness Week is February 3 – 7. For more details go to: https://www.weather.gov/bmx/outreach_swaw

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Mark’s Almanac

February, or Februarius, as the Romans called it, is named after the Latin term februum, which means “purification”. Ancient Rome celebrated the Februa purification ritual on February 15, which was Full Moon on the old lunar based Latin calendar.

February was not originally included in the Roman calendar, which began in March, but was added, along with January by Numa Pompilius around 713 BC, and until 450 BC was considered the last month of the year.

February was originally 29 days long, but one day was taken and added to August, so that Emperor Augustus’s month would be equal to Julius Caesar’s month of July. Now only Leap Year, which will next occur in 2024, has 29 days.

Ground Hog Day is on February 2 & believers will watch that flea bitten danged old Yankee Punxsutawney Phil and True Southern Gentleman Birmingham Bill, to see if they see their shadows. If so, prepare for six more weeks of winter.

How did we come up with Groundhog Day anyway?

It is said by one theory that the first day of Spring is about six weeks after Groundhog Day, on March 20 or 21. 1000 years ago when the world used the Julian calendar, Spring Equinox fell on March 16, which is exactly six weeks after February 2. So, if the groundhog saw his shadow on Groundhog Day there would be six more weeks of winter. But, if he didn’t, there would be only 42 more days of winter left instead. Get the calculator out and you will find that 42 days equals six weeks, so Groundhog Day may have started out as a practical joke.

The modern 21 Century version blurs this into saying that if a groundhog emerges from its burrow and fails to see its shadow, winter will soon end. If not, it will return into its burrow, and the winter will continue for 6 more weeks.

It is believed that the Germans in Pennsylvania brought Groundhog Day with them.

Morgantown, Pennsylvania storekeeper James Morris’ diary entry for Feb. 4, 1841 states “Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”

So, how accurate is the little goomer?

Well, Groundhog Day believers claim a 75% to 90% accuracy rate. The National Climatic Data Center, on the other hand, says it’s more like 39%.

But you know how Heathens can be.

If the NCDC is right, maybe they can still use the critter anyway, by flipping the theory around, so if he predicts warmth, you go with winter & vice versa.

I think this is called “Inverse Forecasting”. Or it should be anyway.

In the Southern Hemisphere February is the equivalent of August. But, for us, February is a cold month with more snow falling in February than in any other month.

Statistically speaking, there is a 70% chance of snow flurries, and a 57% chance of snow up to one inch. There is a 13% chance of over one inch, and a 3% chance of 4 inches or more.

There is hope on the horizon though, as the worst of winter weather is usually over by February 15.

North Atlantic Tropical activity is at a minimum. From 1851 to 2024 there has been only one Tropical Storm to occur, 70 MPH Tropical Storm #1, which affected Florida on February 2 & 3, 1952.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 39.5 degrees at the beginning of the month to 48.6 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 10 hours 35 minutes on February 1 to 11 hours 26 minutes on February 28.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

February 1 Sunrise 6:44 AM Sunset 5:18 PM
February 14 Sunrise 6:33 AM Sunset 5:31 PM
February 28 Sunrise 6:17 AM Sunset 5:43 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Capricornus.

Mercury, magnitude -0.7, in Sagittarius, The Archer, is lost in the glow of the Sun for most of the month.

Mercury at will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Superior Conjunction “ on February 9

He will become visible starting February 26, when he will become visible at 5:56 PM CST,
8° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 6:40 PM CST

Venus, magnitude –4.7, in Piscis, The Fish, is the brilliant “Evening Star” shining in the West.

At the first of the month, she becomes visible at around 5:34 PM CST, 38° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 31 minutes after the Sun at 8:49 PM CST.

The Moon will pass 2.7° North of Venus on February 1.

By the 15th she will become visible at around 5:46 PM CST, 35° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 9 minutes after the Sun at 8:40 PM CST.

Venus will reach her closets distance from the Sun, or “Perihelion” on February 19, when she will be 66,785,029 miles from the Sun.

By months end, she will become visible at around 5:58 PM CST, 36° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 27 minutes after the Sun at 8:09 PM CST.

Earth and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in Leo, The Lion.

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude +1.3, in Gemini, The Twins,

At the beginning of the month, he will become accessible around 5:34 PM CST, when he reaches an altitude of 27° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 10:26 PM CST, 82° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 4:58 AM CST when he sinks below 7° above the north-western horizon.

The Moon will pass very close to Mars, 0.8° South on February 9.

By midmonth, he will become accessible around 5:34 PM CST, when he reaches an altitude of 43° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 9:22 PM CST, 82° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 3:51 AM CST when he sinks below 7° above the north-western horizon.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 6:04 PM CST, 58° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 8:25 PM CST, 82° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 2:49 AM CST, when he sinks below 9° above the north-western horizon.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +9.1, is in Capricornus, The Sea Goat.

Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.6, is in Taurus, The Bull,
is an early evening object and dominates the evening night sky.

At the beginning of the month, he will become visible around 5:34 PM CST, 60° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 7:34 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:53 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 5:46 PM CST, 72° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 6:44 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:03 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 5:58 PM CST, 78° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and will continue to be observable until around 1:57 AM, when he sinks below 7° above the horizon.

Saturn, magnitude +1.1, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

At the first of the month, he becomes visible at around 5:54 PM CST, 23° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 40 minutes after the Sun at 7:58 PM CST.

By midmonth he will become visible around 6:06 PM CST, 13° above your south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hours and 43 minutes after the Sun at 7:13 PM CST.

At months end he becomes visible around 5:53 PM CST, 24° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 44 minutes after the Sun at 8:01 PM CST.

He will disappear from the evening skies as he moves into the glow of the Sun on February16th.

Uranus, magnitude +5.7, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is an early evening object, receding into the evening twilight.

He becomes visible around 6:19 PM CST, at his highest altitude 74° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will continue to be observable until around 11:23 PM CST AM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

By midmonth he will become visible around 6:30 PM CST, at an altitude of 69° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will continue to be observable until around 12:22 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

At month’s end he becomes visible around 6:41 PM CST, at an altitude of 57° above the western horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 11:28 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

Neptune, magnitude +7.8, and his 14 moons and ring, in Pisces, The Fish, is sinking low towards the south-western horizon.

At the first of the month, he becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes at 6:19 PM CST, at an altitude of 29° above the south-western horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He will fade from view, setting 3 hours and 30 minutes after the Sun at 8:48 PM.

He will become lost in the glow of the Sun on February 10.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, the largest Dwarf Planet, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Capricornus, The Sea Goat.

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, the second largest Dwarf Planet, 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 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 in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer.
.
50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Pisces, The Fish.
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, the third largest Dwarf Planet, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Pisces, The Fish.

2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 in Eridanus, The River.

120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea glows at magnitude 20.7 in Gemini, The Twins. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers saying she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagreeing 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, an asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is currently 12,223,127,627 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 13 minutes and 36 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 47 years, 4 month and 19 days is 15,528,958,872 miles, or in Light Time, 23 hours, 9 minutes 22 Seconds from Earth as of 10:58 AM, January 24, 2025, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
Voyager – Mission Status (nasa.gov) & Voyager 1 | TheSkyLive

There are 1,436,041 known asteroids and 3,992 comets as of January 24, 2025 per NASA/JPL Solar Dynamics Website JPL Solar System Dynamics (nasa.gov).

Near Earth Object, asteroid 99942 Apophis, is expected to pass within 19,794 miles of the Earth on April 13, 2029.

Apophis, magnitude 20.3, in Capricornus, The Sea Goat, is 162,289,117 miles or 1539 days from the Earth as of 11:11 AM, January 24, 2025.

5,819 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of January 9, 2025, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on February 1, when she will be 228,327 miles from Earth.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur January 5 at 2:03 AM CST or 08:03 UTC.

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

Full Moon will occur February 12 at 7:55 AM CST or 13:55 UTC. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. February’s Full Moon is “Full Snow Moon” in Native American folklore as the heaviest snows usually fall at this time of year. Since the harsh weather made hunting difficult, some tribes called it “Full Hunger Moon”.

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

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on February 17, when she will be 251,582 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur February 20, at 11:34 AM CST or 15:34 UTC.

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

New Moon occurs February 28 at 6:46 PM CST or 00:46 UTC March 1. 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.

On February 28 six planets will be in a planetary alignment in the evening sky just after sunset.

Remembering that stars twinkle, but, planets do not, see how many you can spot.

Reddish Mars will be highest in the sky, high above the southern horizon.

Bright Jupiter sits a little lower, shining like a beacon.

Then there will be Uranus, which though theoretically, can be seen with the naked eye under perfectly dark, clear skies, given our light polluted skies, you will need a pair of binoculars.

Closer to the western horizon, brilliant Venus will easily be seen.

Just above the western horizon, is Neptune, the faintest planet. You’ll need a pair of powerful binoculars or a telescope to see it.

Mercury will lie close to the horizon, faint in the afterglow of sunset.

Saturn is hidden just below the horizon.

Look at your feet and you will see the Earth also, though that is cheating.

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BirmingHAMfest will be held Friday February 28 and Saturday March 1 at the Trussville Civic Center.

Doors open at 4:00 p.m. on Friday and close at 7:00 p.m. The hamfest will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and close at 4:00 p.m. with the grand prize drawing.

BARC :: BirmingHAMfest :: March 15-16, 2024

This month’s ALERT meeting will be at 7 PM, February 11 at the NWS Forecast Office at the Shelby County Airport.

Mark Wells
ALERT Newsletter

Hi everyone & Happy New Year!

I hope you had a safe and happy holiday season, and that Santa was good to you and that Father Time will be kind to you also.

As we unwind from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, make sure to mark January 14 on your calendar, as that is our next ALERT meeting.

Other important dates to remember and hopefully attend are:

The Blount County Freezefest 2025, Saturday January 4, from 8 to 12 Noon, at the Locust Fork High School, in Locust Fork.

For more information got to: W4BLT.org – FreezeFest 2024

Winter Field Day will be held January 25 & 26.

For more information go to Home – WFDA (winterfieldday.org)

Winter Field Day and it’s spring counterpart Field Day are to me one of the most valuable events that ham radio operators can participate in, for it helps give actual experience in a “grid down” situation, where hams have to erect their antennas and power their equipment as in an actual post-disaster scenario. Whether it’s a club or group, providing their own generator and food, or an individual setting up and using his own equipment using alternate power sources, whether that be battery power or battery and solar power, this can provide valuable hands own experience and operating experience that someday could prove vital in during an actual emergency.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s a fun event? It is.

The Birmingham Hamfest is only a few weeks away, February 28 & March 1, at the Trussville Civic Center. There will be vendors, a flea market, forums, including one by ALERT and ARES, and Amateur Radio Examinations.

For more information go to: http://birminghamfest.org/

Hope to see you there!

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Ham Radio Contests For 2025

I enjoy ham radio contests. Though my station is a chihuahua among the big dogs, contests seem to level the playing field. Stations that you may never hear otherwise, especially DX stations, want to talk to you and there are so many that they are there just for the picking.

Though some moan that contests are not looooong drawn out ragchews, to me they are perfect. Instead of talking to one guy for an hour about his sea shell collection, I can talk to 50 stations bang bang bang in that hour.

Plus, they help me evaluate my station’s effectiveness. Both equipment and antenna wise, and my operating prowess or lack thereof.

For example, many years ago I had a large yard, plenty of trees and a 130 foot dipole. It did ok on the lower HF frequencies and terribly on 20 meters. Today I have a small yard, basically no useable trees and a G5RV shaped like the figure 7. A total Junk “get by” setup.

But, because of contests, I have found that piece of junk antenna is hot on 20 meters. Especially to the Northeast and North.

Having dozens of contacts to compare, as opposed to one single once and a while contact, I get a better idea of the antenna pattern and reach.

Plus, they are fun.

So, why not give your contest muscles a try?

Who knows who you might discover?

The following list is by no means a complete list. For an in-depth list of the various contests and the homepages of the contests I will be listing, go to the WA7BNM Contest Calendar WA7BNM Contest Calendar: Home and Contest Calendar (arrl.org)

Some are marked as “tentative” as the 2025 dates had not been updated on the contests websites when I wrote this article. Also, some dates which were confirmed looked a little funky.

Note that the dates are for the beginning of the contest, not the duration. Check the above websites for times, dates, and contests exchanges, which vary with each contest. Some simple, such as the standard fake signal report and location and others wanting so much goop that it might as well be a novel.

That said, give it a try! You never know what rarity will fire up on contest days and never to be heard anytime else.

Mark’s 2025 Contest Calendar

January 1 Straight Key Night
January 4 ARRL Kids Day
January 11 North American QSO Party – CW
January 18 North American QSO Party – SSB
ARRL VHF Contest
January 24 CQ 160 Meter Contest – CW
January 25 ARRL Winter Field Day
Australia Day
February 1 10-10 International – Winter – USB
European Union DX Contest
British Columbia QSO Party
Minnesota QSO Party
Vermont QSO Party
February 2 North American Sprint – CW
February 8 Asia-Pacific Sprint – CW
February 10 ARRL School Roundup
February 15 ARRL International DX – CW
February 22 CQ 160 Meter Contest – LSB
South Carolina QSO Party
February 23 North Carolina QSO Party
March 1 ARRL International DX
March 2 Nova Scotia NSARA QSO Party
March 8 Idaho QSO Party
Oklahoma QSO Party
March 9 Wisconsin QSO Party
March 15 Virgina QSO Party
Russian DX Contest
March 23 North American SSB Sprint
March 29 CQ Worldwide WPX Contest – SSB
April 5 Louisiana QSO Party
Mississippi QSO Party
Missouri QSO Party
April 12 New Mexico QSO Party
North Dakota QSO Party (tentative)
Georgia QSO Party
April 13 ARRL Rookie Roundup – SSB
April 19 Ontario QSO Party
Quebec QSO Party
Michigan QSO Party
April 26 Florida QSO Party
Nebraska QSO Party
May 3 10-10 International – Spring – CW
7th Call Area QSO Party
New England QSO Party
Indiana QSO Party
Delaware QSO Party
May 10 Canadian Prairies QSO Party
May 17 Arkansas QSO Party
May 24 CQ Worldwide WPX Contest – CW
June 7 Kentucky QSO Party
VK Shires Contest
June 14 Asia-Pacific Sprint – SSB
ARRL June VHF Contest
June 21 SMIRK Contest (6 Meters)
ALL Asia DX Contest – CW
ARRL Kids Day
West Virgina QSO Party
June 28 ARRL Field Day
July 1 RAC Canada Day
July 12 International Amateur Radio Union HF Worldwide
July 19 CQ Worldwide VHF
August 2 10-10 International – Summer – USB
European HF Contest
ARRL 220 & Up Contest
North American QSO Party – CW
August 9 Maryland-DC QSO Party
August 16 North American QSO Party – SSB
August 23 Hawaii Contest Party
Ohio QSO Party
August 30 W/VE Island QSO Party
Kansas QSO Party
Colorado QSO Party
September 6 All Asia DX Contest – SSB
September 7 Tennessee QSO Party
September 13 ARRL September VHF Contest
September 14 North American Sprint – CW
September 20 Washington State Salmon Run
New Hampshire QSO Party
New Jersey QSO Party
Texas QSO Party
Iowa QSO Party (tentative)
September 22 144 MHz Fall Sprint
September 27 Maine QSO Party
October 4 California QSO Party
October 9 10-10 International 10-10 Sprint
October 11 Oceania DX – Phone
Arizona QSO Party
South Dakota QSO Party
Nevada QSO Party
Oceania DX – CW
Pennsylvania QSO Party
October 18 10-10 International – CW
New York QSO Party
Worked All Germany
October 19 Asia Pacific Sprin
Illinois QSO Party
October 25 CQ Worldwide – SSB
November 1 ARRL Sweepstakes – CW
November 15 ARRL Sweepstakes – SSB
November 29 CQ Worldwide – CW
December 6 ARRL 160 Meter Contest
Skywarn Appreciation Day
December 13 ARRL 10 Meter Contest
December 20 ARRL Rookie Roundup – CW

2025 State & Province QSO Parties

Alabama Alabama QSO Party TBD
Alaska (None – just pray a lot) X
Alberta Canadian Prairies QSO Party May 10
Arizona 7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
Arizona QSO Party Oct 11
Arkansas Arkansas QSO Party May 17
British Columbia British Columbia QSO Party Feb 1
California California QSO Party Oct 4
Colorado Colorado QSO Party Aug 30
Connecticut New England QSO Party May 3
Delaware Delaware QSO Party May 3
Florida Florida QSO Party Apr 26
Georgia Georgia QSO Party Apr 12
Hawaii Hawaii QSO Party Aug 23
Idaho Idaho QSO Party Mar 8
7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
Illinois Illinois QSO Party Oct 19
Indiana Indiana QSO Party May 3
Iowa Iowa QSO Party Sep 20 (tentative)
Kansas Kansas QSO Party Aug 30
Kentucky Kentucky QSO Party Jun 7
Louisiana Louisiana QSO Party Apr 5
Maine New England QSO Party May 3
Maine QSO Party Sep 27
Manitoba Canadian Prairies QSO Party May 10
Maryland Maryland-DC QSO Party Aug 9
Massachusetts New England QSO Party May 3
Michigan Michigan QSO Party Apr 19
Minnesota Minnesota QSO Party Feb 1
Mississippi Mississippi QSO Party Apr 5
Missouri Missouri QSO Party Apr 5
Montana 7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
Nebraska Nebraska QSO Party Apr 26
Nevada Nevada QSO Party Oct 11
7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
New Hampshire New England QSO Party May 3
New Hampshire QSO Party Sep 20
New Jersey New Jersey QSO Party Sep 20
New Mexico New Mexico QSO Party Apr 12
Nevada Nevada QSO Party Oct 11
New York New York QSO Party Oct 18
North Carolina North Carolina QSO Party Feb 23
North Dakota North Dakota QSO Party Apr 12 (tentative)
Nova Scotia NSARA Contest Mar 2
Ohio Ohio QSO Party Aug 23
Oklahoma Oklahoma QSO Party Mar 8
Ontario Ontario QSO Party Apr 19
Oregon 7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania QSO Party Oct 11
Quebec Quebec QSO Party Apr 19
Rhode Island New England QSO Party May 3
Saskatchewan Canadian Prairies QSO Party May 11
South Carolina South Carolina QSO Party Feb 22
South Dakota South Dakota QSO Party Oct 11
Tennessee Tennessee QSO Party Sep 7
Texas Texas QSO Party Sep 20
Utah 7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
Vermont New England QSO Party May 3
Vermont QSO Party Feb 1
Virginia Virginia QSO Party Mar 15
Washington Washington State Salmon Run Sep 20
7th Call Area QSO Party May 3
West Virginia West Virginia QSO Party Jun 21
Wisconsin Wisconsin QSO Party Mar 9
Wyoming 7th Call Area QSO Party May 3

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Mark’s Almanac

January is named for the Roman god Janus, the god of gates and doors, and so openings and beginnings.

January receives more sunlight than December, but the equilibrium between incoming solar heat and the heat radiated into space by the northern snowfields does not peak until late January and early February, six weeks after winter solstice. So, the weather continues to cool, with January 8 – 20 being the coldest part of the year.

Typically, in January there is a 53% chance of up to one inch of snow and a 25% chance of over one inch of snow.

There is has been less snowfall this year than normal, as usually we see except for the southern tip of Nova Scotia, all of Canada and roughly one half of the Continental US, or “CONUS”, are usually covered with snow. Canada’s Hudson’s Bay is frozen, as is the ocean water between Baffin Island and Greenland.

Current Snow Depth (usda.gov)

Barometric pressure is highest in January.

Though the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially ended November 30, every now and then Mother Nature will give us a surprise as there have been 5 tropical storms and 3 Category 1 hurricanes from 1851 to 2024. This includes an unnamed hurricane in 1938 in the Eastern Atlantic & Hurricane Alex which in 2016 effected Bermuda and the Azores and a subtropical storm that briefly spun up on January 16, 2023

Birmingham January climatology per Intellicast is monthly rainfall 5.45” inches and snowfall 0.7”. Average high temperature is 53 degrees and the average low 32 degrees. Record high of 81 degrees occurred in 1941 and a record low of -6 degrees in 1985.
Barometric pressure is highest in January.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily increases from 33.5 degrees at the beginning of the month to 39.2 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight increases from 9 hours 59 minutes on January 1 to 10 hours 33 minutes on January 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

January 1 Sunrise 6:52 AM Sunset 4:50 PM
January 15 Sunrise 6:51 AM Sunset 5:02 PM
January 31 Sunrise 6:44 AM Sunset 5:17 PM

Looking skyward, at the beginning of the month, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Sagittarius, the Archer

Mercury, magnitude -0.4, in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer, is very low in the morning sky and is sinking towards the Sun.

At the first of the month, he rises at 5:16 AM CST, 1 hours and 33 minutes before the Sun, and reaches an altitude of 11° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at 6:25 CST.

He will be lost in the glow of the Sun on January 7.

Venus, magnitude –4.4, in Capricornus, The Sea Goat, is the brilliant “Evening Star” shining in the West.

This bright object hovering in the sky has some people worried, as they think the mystery drones have arrived in Alabama. This isn’t unusual, as she usually spawns UFO reports when she graces the evening skies.

At the first of the month, she becomes visible at around 5:06 PM CST, 34° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 38 minutes after the Sun at 8:27 PM CST.

On January 3 Venus will pass near the Moon during and after dusk. If you have a deep blue sky, you may be able to spot Venus in daylight. Around 3:30 PM CST, when the Moon is at her highest point in the sky, look just to the left of the Moon.

She will reach her greatest separation from the Sun of 47.2° or “Greatest Eastern Elongation” on January 10.

By the 15th she will become visible at around 5:18 PM CST, 37° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 41 minutes after the Sun at 8:42 PM CST.

She will reach her highest point in the sky in its 2024–2025 evening visit on January 30. Over the following weeks she will then start slowly descending towards the Sun.

By months end, she will become visible at around 5:33 PM CST, 38° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 32 minutes after the Sun at 8:49 PM CST.

Earth and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in Canis Minor, The Lesser Dog.

Earth will reach her closest distance to the Sun on January 4, at 7:28 AM CST, when the planet will be 91,405,993 miles from the Sun.

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude -1,2, in Cancer, The Crab, is an evening object.

At the beginning of the month, he will become accessible around 6:56 PM CST, when he reaches an altitude of 7° above the north-eastern horizon. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 1:21 AM CST, 80° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:32 AM CST, 22° above the western horizon.

Mars orbit around the Sun will carry it to its closest point to the Earth, or perigee, passing within 59,491,717 miles of the Earth on January 12.

Mars will pass very close to the Moon, within 0.2°South of the Moon on January 13.

By midmonth he becomes accessible at around 5:34 PM CST, when he rises to an altitude of 7° above the north-eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at midnight, 81° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 6:32 AM CST when he sinks below 7° above the north-western horizon.

Mars will reach opposition, or when he lies opposite the Sun in the sky, on January 15.

He 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 Mars. A medium-sized telescope will allow you to see some of the dark details on the planet’s orange surface.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 5:33 PM CST, 26° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 10:31 PM CST, 82° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 5:03 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the north-western horizon.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +9.3, is in Capricornus, The Sea Goat.

Jupiter, his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.8, is in Taurus, The Bull, is an evening object.

At the beginning of the month, he will become accessible around 5:06 PM CST, 28° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 9:44 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 4:04 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 5:18 PM CST, 43° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. he will then reach its highest point in the sky at 8:44 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:03 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 5:33 PM CST, 59° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 7:38 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:57 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

Saturn, his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, magnitude +1.1, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer. He is an early evening object descending into twilight.

At the first of the month, he becomes visible at around 5:26 PM CST, 44° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 9:46 PM CST.

The Moon will pass near Saturn on January 4.

By midmonth he will become visible around 5:38 PM CST, 36° above your south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 55 minutes after the Sun at 8:56 PM CST.

At months end he becomes visible around 5:53 PM CST, 24° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 44 minutes after the Sun at 8:01 PM CST.

The Moon will pass near Saturn on January 31.

Uranus, his 27 moons and ring magnitude +5.7, in Taurus, The Bull, is an early evening object.

He becomes accessible around 5:53 PM CST, 53° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 8:23 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:27 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

By midmonth he will become accessible around 6:04 PM CST, 66° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 7:26 PM CST, 74° above your southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 12:31 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

At month’s end he becomes accessible around 6:18 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 6:23 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 11:27 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

Neptune, his 14 moons and ring, magnitude 7.8, in Pisces, The Fish, is an early evening object.

At the first of the month, he becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes around 5:53 PM CST, 51° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 10:47 PM CST.

At midmonth he will become accessible around 6:04 PM CST, 43° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 9:53 PM CST.

At the end of the month, he becomes accessible 6:18 PM CST, 30° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 35 minutes after the Sun at 8:52 PM CST.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, the largest Dwarf Planet, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Capricornus, The Sea Goat.

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, the second largest Dwarf Planet, 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 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 in Scorpius, The Scorpion.
.
50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Pisces, The Fish.

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, the third largest Dwarf Planet, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Pisces, The Fish.

2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 in Eridanus, The River.

120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea glows at magnitude 20.7 in Auriga, The Charioteer. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers saying she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagreeing 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, an asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is currently 12,231,702,770 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 14 minutes and 22 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 47 years, 3 month and 22 days is 15,492,020,340 miles, or in Light Time, 23 hours, 06 minutes 4 Seconds from Earth as of 3:34 PM, December 27, 2024, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
Voyager – Mission Status (nasa.gov) & Voyager 1 | TheSkyLive

There are 1,428,906 known asteroids and 3,983 comets as of December 27, 2024 per NASA/JPL Solar Dynamics Website JPL Solar System Dynamics (nasa.gov).

Near Earth Object, asteroid 99942 Apophis, which is expected to pass within 19,794 miles of the Earth on April 13, 2029.

Apophis, magnitude 20.6, is Sagittarius, The Archer, is 167,353,908 miles or 1567 days from the Earth as of 3:42 PM, December 27, 2024.

5,811 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of December 16, 2024, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

The Quadrantids Meteor Shower will occur Friday & Saturday, January 3 & 4. This is an above average shower producing between 40 to 100 meteors per hour radiating from the constellation Bootes, in the area near the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the head of Draco the Dragon.

The shower runs annually from January 1-5. It peaks this year on the night of the 3rd and morning of the 4th. The crescent moon will set early in the evening, leaving dark skies for what should be an excellent show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Bootes, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

This shower favors the Northern Hemisphere because its radiant point, or the point where the meteors appear to originate in the sky, is so far north on the sky’s dome.

This shower is believed to be produced by dust grains from burnt out comet 2003 EH1, which may also be the remainder of comet c/1490 Y1, which was lost to history after a prominent meteor shower was observed in 1490, possibly due to the breakup of the comet.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur January 6 at 5:57 PM CST or 23:57 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 January 7, when she will be 230,015 miles from Earth.

Full Moon will occur January 13, at 4:28 PM CST or 22:28 UTC. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated.

January’s Full Moon is “Wolf Moon” in Native American folklore. This was also called “Wulf-Monath” or “Wolf Month” by the Saxons, because at this full Moon, packs of wolves howled in hunger outside of the villages.

It has also been called “Old Moon” and “Moon After Yule”.

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

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on January 20, when she will be 251,220 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur January 21, at 2:32 PM CST or 20:32 UTC.

During a Quarter Moon the Moon’s magnitude is -10.0.
New Moon occurs January 29 at 6:37 AM CST or 12:37 UTC. 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.

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This month’s meeting will be on January 14 at 7 PM at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at the Shelby County Airport.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Wells
Editor / ALERT Newsletter

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the 210th edition of the ALERT Newsletter!

In writing the Newsletter, I can proudly say that none of the 210 issues of the ALERT Newsletter has used Artificial Intelligence. Some might say that Natural Intelligence hasn’t always been used either. And sometimes that borders on true, as the wellspring of articles ofttimes runs dry and sometimes the main article ends up being written in the last 12 hours of my self-imposed deadline.

That said, we need articles for the Newsletter. They can be ALERT focused, ham radio focused, weather related, or just for fun articles. They can be meeting minutes, important announcements, how to or how not to articles. Basically, anything family friendly that won’t get us sued.

Now is your chance at fame, fortune and of course, those Pulitzer possibilities.

Email your articles to wd4nyl@bellsouth.net

From the House of Mark WD4NYL and Teresa KQ4JC, we wish you all a very safe and Merry Christmas!

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Skywarn Appreciation Day 2024

Skywarn Recognition Day will occur on December 6!

Skywarn Recognition Day is a special event developed in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the ARRL to honor the contributions that Skywarn volunteers make to the NWS mission – the protection of life and property during threatening weather.

During the Skywarn special event, hams operate from ham equipped NWS offices nationwide. The object of the event is for all participating Amateur Radio stations to exchange contact information with as many NWS stations as possible on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, 2 meters, 220 MHz and 70 centimeters. Contacts via repeaters are permitted.

This 24 hour event begins Friday, December 6nd at 6PM Central Time or 00:00 UTC December 7.

While we will not be activating K4NWS at the NWS Forecast Office, ALERT, will be active during Skywarn Appreciation Day. Offsite participation is greatly encouraged!

Our President, Johnnie, KJ4OPX is coordinating this event, so if you are available to help with the SRD, please coordinate with Johnnie in advance at wxjohnnie@gmail.com and let him know what modes and frequencies you plan to work and if you registered, any assigned numbers.

If you are a ham operator with an FCC license you id is your call sign. Any other people will be given an ID.

SKYWARN Recognition Day Operating Instructions

1. Object: For all amateur stations to exchange QSO information with as many Amateur Radio SKYWARN Spotters and National Weather Service Stations as possible on the 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6, and 2-meter and 70-centimeter bands. Contacts via repeaters are permitted. SKYWARN Recognition Day serves to celebrate the contributions to public safety made by amateur radio operators during severe weather events of the past year.
2. Date: NWS stations will operate December 7, 2024, from 0000 – 2400 UTC.
3. Exchange: Call sign, name, location, signal report, a one- or two-word description of the weather occurring at your site (“sunny,” “partly cloudy,” “windy,” etc.), temperature reading if available and SRD Number if the station has one.
4. Modes: NWS stations will work various modes including SSB, FM, AM, RTTY, Winlink, CW, FT8, FT4, and PSK31. While working digital modes, special event stations will append “/NWS” to their call sign (e.g., N0A/NWS).
5. Station Control Operator: It is suggested that during SRD operations for NWS offices a non-NWS volunteer should serve as a control operator for your station.
6. Event and QSL Information: The National Weather Service will provide event information via the SRD website. Event certificates will once again be electronic and printable from the main website after the conclusion of SRD.
7. Log Submission: To submit your log summary for SRD, you can use the online submission form that will be made available on the NWS SRD Recognition main page when the event is completed. Deadline for log submission is January 31, 2024.

More information about the event, including Operating Procedures for the contest, Participating Offices, Echolink Info/IRLP info, and Registration can be found at https://www.weather.gov/crh/skywarnrecognition

K4NWS can be contacted via Amateur Radio using the following routes:

HF: 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 and 6, Meter Bands (via offsite volunteers with HF and 6 Meter capability)
VHF: 2 Meter FM on the 146.880 MHz (BARC), 147.320 MHz and 146.980 MHz (SCARC) repeaters
VHF: 1 ¼ Meters aka 220 MHz FM on the 224.500 MHz repeater
UHF: 70 Centimeters aka 440 Mhz on the FM 444.700 MHz repeater
D-Star: REF058B or REF090C/XRF334C
DMR Talk Group 31013 which is available on all DMR repeaters in the Birmingham area but is also available on various repeaters in the BMX county warning area.
AllStar: 48168
EchoLink: K4NWS-L (155003)
IRLP Experimental Reflector: 0091

In 2020 and in response to COVID, SRD was expanded outside of Amateur Radio to include all Skywarn Storm spotters.

Here are some ways to contact our station that are not limited to Amateur Radio:
Zello: https://zello.com/channels/k/duTMd
Telegram: http://t.me/K4NWS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/K4NWS/
X: https://twitter.com/K4NWS
MeWe: https://mewe.com/join/alert

Our participation in SRD in previous years can be found here:
http://alert-alabama.org/SRD/index.htm

This is a fun event and I hope you give it a try!

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ALERT Christmas Party!

The 2023 ALERT Christmas Party will take place Tuesday December 10th at 7PM during our regular meeting time.

There will be food, non-alcoholic drinks, desserts, and other goodies. Come have Christmas dinner with your ALERT family!

If you plan to bring a dish, please let Johnnie know at wxjohnnie@gmail.com and tell him who you are, what you will bring (so we don’t end up with 18 fruitcakes and no beans) and how many will attend.

Hope to see you there!

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Mark’s Almanac

December was the tenth Roman Month, from whence it gets its name, “decem” meaning “ten”. Among many Native American tribes it was called “the Moon of Clacking Rocks”, as it was the time when they prepared and manufactured stone tools, implements and weapons, since the growing season was over, and bad weather prevented them from hunting.

December is the cloudiest month of the year, with only 40 to 60% of possible sunshine poking through the clouds. It is also the stormiest month of the year for the Continental US & the Gulf of Mexico. By “stormy” meaning large-scale storms, not necessarily the tornadic storms that they bring, even though we are still in our Second Tornado Season.

A region of heavy rainfall usually forms from Texas to Northwest Florida to Tennessee and Arkansas. Cold waves bringing rain, snow, ice and occasionally tornadoes, sweep across the region.

Average precipitation in Birmingham is 4.47” of rainfall and 0.1” of snowfall.

December can be cloudy and cold, and, then it can swing into spring like warmth, luring plants to bloom early, only to have the frosts and freezes return and the plants are “nipped in the bud”.

Hurricane season is now “officially” over, however Mother Nature sometimes throws a surprise in to make life interesting.

From 1851 – 2023 there have been 19 Tropical Storms and from 1822 to 2022 there have been 8 Category 1 hurricanes, but none have ever struck the United States.

Two notable December hurricanes are:

Hurricane Alice of 1954, which is the only known Atlantic hurricane to span two calendar years and one of only two named Atlantic tropical cyclones, along with Tropical Storm Zeta of 2005, to do so.

Alice developed on December 30, 1954 from a trough of low pressure in the central Atlantic Ocean in an area of unusually favorable conditions. The storm moved southwestward and gradually strengthened to reach hurricane status. After passing through the Leeward Islands on January 2, 1955, Alice reached peak winds of 90 mph before encountering cold air and turning to the southeast. It dissipated on January 6 over the southeastern Caribbean Sea.

The last December hurricane to occur was Hurricane Epsilon during the 2005 season, the year in which we ran out of hurricane names. The year also featured Tropical Storm Zeta, the latest forming Tropical Storm which formed on December 30, 2005 and lasted until January 7, 2006.

Days continue to grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 34.6 degrees at the beginning of the month to 33.0 degrees at Winter Solstice on December 21 and then the angle begins to lift reaching 33.4 degrees on New Year’s Eve,

Daylight decreases from 10 hours 6 minutes on December 1 to 9 hours 56 minutes at Winter Solstice and then increases to 9 hours 58 minutes on December 31

Sunrise and Sunset times for Birmingham are:

December 1 Sunrise 6:33 AM Sunset 4:39 PM
December 15 Sunrise 6:43 AM Sunset 4:40 PM
December 21 Sunrise 6:47 AM Sunset 4:43 PM
December 31 Sunrise 6:51 AM Sunset 4:49 PM

Looking skyward, at the beginning of the month, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Libra, The Scales.

Mercury, magnitude -0.2, in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer, is lost in the glow of the Sun as the start of the month and will pass between the Earth and the Sun, or Inferior Conjunction, on December 5.

Mercury’s 88 day orbit around the Sun will carry him to his closest point to the Sun or “Perihelion”, 28,816,300 miles from the Sun on December 6.

He will emerge into the morning sky on December 16, becoming visible rising at 5:11 AM CST,
1 hour and 31 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 10° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:12 AM CST.

He will reach dichotomy or half lit phase on December 20.

He will reach his highest altitude in the morning sky on December 23, reaching 18° above the Eastern horizon and shining brightly at -0.4 magnitude.

He will reach his greatest separation from the Sun, or Greatest Western Elongation on Christmas Morning.

By months end, he will rise around 5:13 AM CST, 1 hour and 36 minutes before the Sun and reach an altitude of 12° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:25 AM CST.

Venus, magnitude –4.1, in Sagittarius, The Archer, is visible in the evening sky.

At the first of the month, she becomes around 4:55 PM CST 24° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 2 hours and 58 minutes after the Sun at 7:36 PM CST.

Venus will be near the Moon on December 4th.

At midmonth she becomes visible at around 4:57 PM CST, 28° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 21 minutes after the Sun at 8:01 PM CST.

On New Years Eve, she will rise around 5:06 PM CST, 33° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. She will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 37 minutes after the Sun at 8:25 PM CST.

Earth and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in Orion, The Hunter.

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude -0.3, in Cancer, The Crab, is an early morning object, becoming accessible around 9:25 PM CST, when he reaches an altitude of 8° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 3:38 AM CST, 77° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:09 AM CST, 54° above the western horizon.

Mars will enter retrograde on December 6, 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, or directly opposite the Sun in the night sky.

This retrograde motion is caused by the Earth’s own motion around the Sun. As the Earth circles the Sun, our view or perspective changes, and this causes the apparent positions of objects to move from side to side in the sky during a one year period. This nodding motion is super imposed on the planet’s long-term eastward motion through the constellations, causing them to appear to be moving backwards in their orbits.

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 8:25 PM CST, 8° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 2:43 AM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 6:23 AM CST, when he
will be lost to dawn twilight, 40° above your western horizon.

The Moon will pass near Mars on December 18.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 7:01 PM CST, 7° above the north-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and reaches its highest point in the sky at 1:26 AM, 80° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:32 AM CST, 23° above the western horizon.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +9.3, is in Sagittarius, The Archer.

Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.8, is in Taurus, The Bull, dominates the night skies.

At the beginning of the month, he will become accessible around 5:47 PM CST, when he reaches an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. HE will then reach its highest point in the sky at 12:07 AM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:14 AM CST, 10° above the western horizon.

Jupiter will reach Opposition, or be directly opposite of the Sun on December 7.

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 4:57 PM CST, 11° above the eastern horizon as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 11:00 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 5:20 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 5:06 PM CST, 27° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 9:49 PM CST, 78° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 4:08 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

Saturn, magnitude +0.9, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, as an early evening object.

At the first of the month, he becomes accessible around 5:13 PM CST, 46° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 6:00 PM, 47° above the southern horizon and will continue to be observable until around 10:40 PM CST when he sinks below 11° above your western horizon.

The Moon will pass very close to Saturn on December 8th.

By midmonth he will become accessible around 5:16 PM CST, 47° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the south-western horizon, setting at 10:47 PM CST.

At months end he becomes visible around 5:25 PM, CST, at his highest point in the sky, 44° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will continue to be observable until around 8:49 PM CST, when he sinks below 11° above the south-western horizon.

Uranus, magnitude +5.8, and his 27 moons and ring, in Taurus, The Bull, is currently visible as an evening object, becoming visible around 5:41 PM CST, 24° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 10:29 PM, 75° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:34 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

By midmonth he will become visible around 5:44 PM CST, at an altitude of 37° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 9:32 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 2:36 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

At month’s end he becomes visible around 5:52 PM CST, at an altitude of 52° above the eastern horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky at 8:27 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:31 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, is currently visible in the evening sky.

At the first of the month, he becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes at 5:41 PM CST, at an altitude of 50° above the south-eastern horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 6:52 PM CST, 54° above the southern horizon. He will fade from view around 10:57 PM when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

Neptune will end his retrograde motion and resume his normal path across the sky on December 7.

At midmonth he will become accessible around 5:44 PM CST, 53° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 5:57 PM CST, 54° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 10:02 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

At the end of the month, he becomes accessible around 5:52 CST PM, 51° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting at 10:50 PM CST.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, the largest Dwarf Planet, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Capricorn, The Sea Goat.

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, the second largest Dwarf Planet, 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 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 in Libra, The Scales.
.
50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Pisces, The Fish.

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, the third largest Dwarf Planet, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Pisces, The Fish.

2014 UZ224 nicknamed “DeeDee” for “Distant Dwarf” is 8.5 billion miles from the Sun, at magnitude +23.0 in Eridanus, The River.

120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea glows at magnitude 20.7 in Auriga, The Charioteer. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers saying she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagreeing 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, an asteroid unofficially called Asteroid 2018 AG37, and nicknamed FarFarOut, glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx.

FarFarOut is currently 12,272,995,686 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 18 minutes and 4 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 47 years, 2 month and 14 days is 15,441,339,285 miles, or in Light Time, 23 hours, 01 minutes 32 Seconds from Earth as of 11:53 PM, November 19, 2024, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
Voyager – Mission Status (nasa.gov) & Voyager 1 | TheSkyLive

There are 1,419,747 known asteroids and 3,979 comets as of November 19, 2024 per NASA/JPL Solar Dynamics Website JPL Solar System Dynamics (nasa.gov).

Near Earth Object, asteroid 99942 Apophis, which is expected to pass within 19,794 miles of the Earth on April 13, 2029.

Apophis, magnitude 21.1, is in Libra, The Scales, is 1,783,678,858 miles or 1605 days from the Earth as of 12:02 PM, October 24, 2024. November 19, 2024

5,787 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of November 19, 2024, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

New Moon occurs December 1 at 12:22 AM CST or 6:22 UTC. 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 December 8 at 9:27 AM CST or 15:27 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 December 12, when she will be 227,024 miles from Earth.

The Geminid Meteor Shower peaks on December 13-14. Geminids are one of the year’s best meteor showers. It is my favorite meteor shower and considered by many to be the best shower in the heavens. It’s a consistent and prolific shower, and usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the more widely recognized Perseids of August. This shower typically produces 50 or more multicolored meteors an hour, or about one every minute, and at the peak 120 meteors per hour.

As a general rule, the dazzling Geminid meteor shower starts around mid-evening and tends to pick up steam as evening deepens into late night. No matter where you live worldwide, the greatest number of meteors usually fall in the wee hours after midnight, or for a few hours centered around 2 a.m. local time, as the Earth plows headlong into the stream. If you’re game, you can watch the Geminid shower all the way from mid-evening until dawn.

The Geminids are produced by debris left behind by an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon, which was discovered in 1982. The shower runs annually from December 7-17. It peaks this year on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th. The morning of the 15th could also be nearly as active this year.

The nearly full moon will block out all but the brightest meteors this year. But if you are patient, you may still be able to catch a few good ones. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Gemini, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Full Moon occurs at 3:02 AM CST or 9:02 UTC on December 15 when the Moon, being on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun will be fully illuminated. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Cold Moon because this is the time of year when the cold winter air settles in and the nights become long and dark. This moon has also been known as the Moon Before Yule and the Full Long Nights Moon.

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

Winter Solstice at 3:17 AM or 09:17 UTC December 21. The South Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its southernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.44 degrees south latitude. This is the first day of winter (winter solstice) in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of summer (summer solstice) in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Ursid meteor shower, a minor meteor shower, which runs annually from December 17-25 will peak on the night and morning of December 21 – 22 producing about 5-10 meteors per hour. It is produced by dust grains left behind by comet Tuttle, which was first discovered in 1790.
The waning gibbous moon will block out many of the fainter meteors this year. If you are patient, you should still be able to catch some of the brighter ones. Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur December 4 at 4:19 PM CST or 22:19 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 December 24, when she will be 251,316 miles from Earth.

December 2024 is unusual as it features two New Moons.

The Second New Moon occurs December 30 at 4:28 PM CST or 22:28 UTC. 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.

If you have two New Moons in a month, or a “the third New Moon in a season with four New Moons”, the second New Moon is unofficially called by some a “Black Moon”.

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Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

Christmastime is a time of wonder & mystery. A time of bright lights, shining trees and the time of hide and seek, as presents are hidden from inquiring minds and fingers.

It is a time when one’s mind and memories drift back to days of childhood, and Christmases now long gone by. Remembering friends and family, some here, some now gone & longing that they were near once again, as it was once upon a time not so long ago.
And it is a time when, if we allow ourselves and don’t choose to “Grinch out” and be sour pusses, we can become kids once again.

Most importantly though, it’s a time to remember that the true “reason for the season” occurred in a manger, long ago on that first cold and chilly “Silent Night.”

So, as you go about your Christmas preparations remember the magic that was there when you were a child & don’t let that magic die. Make it magic once again

For Christmas truly is “the most wonderful time of the year”.

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This month’s meeting will feature the ALERT Christmas Party on December 10 at 7:00 PM at the National Weather Service Forecast office at the Shelby County Airport.

Hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL
Editor
ALERT Newsletter