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 9 on your calendar, as that is our next ALERT meeting.

 

Other important dates to remember and hopefully attend are:

 

The Blount County Freezefest 2024, Saturday January 6, 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 he held January 27 & 28.

 

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, March 14 & 14, at the Trussville Civic Center.

 

This event, will as with last year’s event, will be a Friday & Saturday affair.  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!

 

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

Ham Radio Contests For 2024

 

December 27, 1977 was a sunny day, with high clouds and a southerly breeze.  I went to the mailbox, with anticipation and a little fear hoping to see a letter from the FCC.  I had taken my Novice 5 WPM code and written exams on November 27. Though my Elmer, Jim K4UMD said “I think you passed”, only the FCC could say ”yea or nay” and everything in those days was done via the US Mail.

 

That day I found an oblong envelope and inside was a yellow slip of paper that said “WD4NYL”.

It seemed like a miracle.  Which perhaps is why I never changed to a fancier callsign. For 46 years I have, or my station has been WD4NYL.

 

The first contact came two days later on 40 meters at a slooooow 3 WPM.  A couple of months later a ham event occurred which has always brought fond memories.  The 1978 Novice Roundup.  From February 4th through 12th I worked dozens of stations all over the country.  No struggle making contacts, they just poured in like rain.  Ham radio Nirvana.  And that’s when I decided I liked ham radio contests.

 

Ham radio contests are a divisive issue.  

 

On the one hand there are those who, like me, due to life and its 10,000 responsibilities, rarely  have time to get on the air, and getting on the air and finding every frequency occupied by “CQ Contest, CQ Contest” can be totally annoying if you are just wanting to “chew the rag”.

 

Contesters counter that not every weekend has a contest and that 60, 30, 17 & 12 meters are intentionally contest free.  And, that those are very good bands, which is true.

 

Though, I know, that due to my time and antenna situation, being treeless, and using whatever will get me on the air, I will never be a “contender” in ham contests.  But, I do enjoy contests & see the usefulness of them.  

 

For one thing, they amuse me.  They confirm what I have seen in 46 years of hamming.  Many times, you can tune above and below a ham band and hear those frequencies literally crawling with “utility” and Shortwave broadcasters, but the ham band in between is “dead”.  A black hole in the middle of the RF spectrum. 

 

The contest time comes around, and some switch is flipped in the ionosphere and that black hole that was sucking up all the RF from, say 14.000 – 14.350 MHz suddenly disappears, and an anthill of operators is stirred up.  The contest’s time ends and just as suddenly crickets rule the world of 20 meters again.

 

The band was open the entire time, but everyone hearing static just assumed it was dead and stayed off the air, preferring to argue on Facebook instead.

 

The same is true for 10 meters. 

 

The 11 meter CB band will be booming, as are the illegal “free band” frequencies between the CB and 10 meter band, but 10 is as dead as a stegosaurus.  Or is it?

 

If 11 meters is open, 12 meters is also open and 10 meters is probably open also. 

 

With contests you get to hear states and rare DX stations that you might never hear otherwise, or hear so rarely that it is a miracle, and you have to claw through 1000 stations in a pileup the size of Mt. Everest to reach them.

 

With contests DX stations who might ordinarily pass you by because your signal is putrid & puny, like mine, WANT to work you and so you can rack up contacts for the DXCC and other various awards, or just the joy of the accomplishment.

 

I like contests because even if you have to repeat your callsign nine times before they get it right your signal report is always “59”, which for our non-ham readers means “a perfect readable strong signal”.  Even if I know the report is a total illusion, it stokes my ego, making me and my station feel like a Big Dawg, even if it is a chihuahua.

 

Contests help give you an idea of the effectiveness and quirks of your station. For instance, I know that 15 meters is my best bet to reach Europe, 10 meters for western stations and South America, 20 meters is for the Midwest and so on.  It gives me an idea of the actual antenna pattern I am encountering, as opposed to the theoretical pattern I would have if I had a “by the book” antenna setup, which I do not have.

 

Contests give life to lesser used bands such as 160 & 6 meters and the VHF & UHF bands, which usually are thought of in terms of repeaters not distant contacts.

 

So, if you find a contest in progress, you might check online for the rules or exchange requirements, or just listen a while and you generally will get the gist of what is going on and just hop in.  

 

The following lists are my Target List of contests that particularly interest me, usually due to DX opportunities, as in “non-Continental US stations” and various states contests,

 

In case you didn’t know, there is a debate as to what the definition of “DX” is or should be.

 

Some feel that the term “DX” should not include Canada, for instance, since supposedly Canadians don’t consider the United States as DX.  Just as Europeans do not consider other Europeans countries as DX, even though they may be different countries with different languages.

 

On the other hand, you have a thing called the “ARRL DXCC” list. Which DOES consider Mexico, Canada, and Central American stations as DX.  My definition of “DX” is “if I can’t see the other stations antenna, it’s “DX’”, therefore Arizona is DX to me, as is Alabaster.

 

It doesn’t really matter to me, as I don’t chase awards and can’t tell you how many “DX” stations I have actually worked.  Someday I will dig out 46 years’ worth of logbooks and find out.  They are paper logs and should be ok.  If I had computerized them way back when, as folk said I should, the oxide from the floppy disks would have corroded into powder long ago, even if I found a computer still compatible with the operating system used in those days.  This is why I recommend that if you use a logging program, use a paper log also as a backup.  Operating systems change, storage systems become obsolete and eventually they are no longer supported.  But paper and pen last decades and, with notes about tests taken, thoughts about ham experiences and just life in general, it doubles as a journal of your ham radio journey and life. As you thumb through them vivid memories come flooding back to you, which is something you will value in years to come.  This is something electronic logs can never do.  They are just letters and numbers on a spreadsheet.  Cold and emotionless.

 

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 2024 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 other 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 be heard anytime else.  It’s FUN!

 

 

Mark’s 2024 Contest Calendar

 

 

January 1         Straight Key Night

January 6         ARRL Kids Day

January 13 North American QSO Party – CW

                          ARRL VHF Contest

January 24       Australia Day

January 26       CQ 160 Meter Contest – CW

January 27       ARRL Winter Field Day

February 3       10-10 International – Winter – USB

                          British Columbia QSO Party 

Minnesota QSO Party

Vermont QSO Party

February 4        North American Sprint – CW

February 10      Asia-Pacific Sprint – CW

February 17      ARRL International DX – CW

February 23      CQ 160 Meter Contest – LSB

February 24 South Carolina QSO Party

February 25 North Carolina QSO Party

March 2             ARRL International DX

March 3 Nova Scotia NSARA QSO Party (tentative)

March 9             Idaho QSO Party

Oklahoma QSO Party  

March 10 Wisconsin QSO Party

March 16 Virgina QSO Party

March 30 CQ Worldwide WPX Contest – SSB

April 6 Louisiana QSO Party

Nebraska QSO Party

April 7 Mississippi QSO Party

Missouri QSO Party (tentative)

April 13 New Mexico QSO Party

North Dakota QSO Party (tentative)

Georgia QSO Party  

Michigan QSO Party (tentative)

April 20 Ontario QSO Party

April 21 ARRL Rookie Roundup – SSB

Quebec QSO Party (tentative)

April 27 Florida QSO Party  

May 4 10-10 International – Spring – CW

7th Call Area QSO Party

New England QSO Party

Indiana QSO Party

May 11 Canadian Prairies QSO Party

May 18 Arkansas QSO Party (tentative)

May 25 CQ Worldwide WPX Contest – CW

June 1 Kentucky QSO Party

June 8  Asia-Pacific Sprint – SSB

ARRL June VHF Contest

June 15            SMIRK Contest (6 Meters)

ALL Asia DX Contest – CW

ARRL Kids Day

West Virgina QSO Party

June 22 ARRL Field Day

July 1 RAC Canada Day

July 13 International Amateur Radio Union HF Worldwide

July 20 CQ Worldwide VHF

August 3 10-10 International – Summer – USB

European HF Contest

ARRL 220 & Up Contest

  North American QSO Party – CW

August 10 Maryland-DC QSO Party

August 17 North American QSO Party – SSB

August 24 Hawaii Contest Party

W/VE Island QSO Party

Kansas QSO Party

Ohio QSO Party

August 31        Colorado QSO Party

September 1 Tennessee QSO Party

September 7 All Asia DX Contest – SSB

September 9    North American Sprint – CW

September 14 ARRL September VHF Contest

Alabama QSO Party (tentative)

September 21  Washington State Salmon Run

New Hampshire QSO Party

New Jersey QSO Party

Texas QSO Party

Iowa QSO Party

September 22 144 MHz Fall Sprint

September 28 Maine QSO Party

October 5 California QSO Party

October 10 10-10 International 10-10 Sprint

October 12 Oceania DX – Phone

Arizona QSO Party

South Dakota QSO Party

Nevada QSO Party

  Oceania DX – CW

Pennsylvania QSO Party

October 19 10-10 International – CW

New York QSO Party

October 20Asia Pacific Sprin

Illinois QSO Party

October 26 CQ Worldwide – SSB

November 2 ARRL Sweepstakes – CW

November 16 ARRL Sweepstakes – SSB

November 23 CQ Worldwide – CW

December 6 ARRL 160 Meter Contest

Skywarn Appreciation Day

December 14 ARRL 10 Meter Contest

December 22 ARRL Rookie Roundup – CW

 

 

 

2024 State & Province QSO Parties

 

 

Alabama                  Alabama QSO Party              Sep 14 (tentative)

Alaska                     (None – just pray a lot)                         X

Alberta                     Canadian Prairies QSO Party May 11

Arizona                    7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4 

                      Arizona QSO Party              Oct 12

Arkansas        Arkansas QSO Party              May 18 (tentative)

British Columbia    British Columbia QSO Party Feb 3 

California        California QSO Party              Oct 5

Colorado        Colorado QSO Party              Aug 31 

Connecticut        New England QSO Party              May 4

Delaware        Delaware QSO Party              May 4 (tentative)

Florida                     Florida QSO Party                           Apr 27 

Georgia        Georgia QSO Party              Apr 13

Hawaii                     Hawaii QSO Party                           Aug 24

Idaho                     Idaho QSO Party                           Mar 9

                      7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4

Illinois                      Illinois QSO Party                           Oct 20

Indiana                     Indiana QSO Party              May 4 

Iowa                     Iowa QSO Party                           Sep 21

Kansas                     Kansas QSO Party                           Aug 24

Kentucky        Kentucky QSO Party                      Jun 1

Louisiana        Louisiana QSO Party              Apr 6 

Maine                     New England QSO Party              May 4

         Maine QSO Party                           Sep 28 

Manitoba        Canadian Prairies QSO Party May 11

Maryland        Maryland-DC QSO Party              Aug 10

Massachusetts        New England QSO Party              May 4

Michigan        Michigan QSO Party              Apr 13 (tentative)

Minnesota        Minnesota QSO Party              Feb 3

Mississippi             Mississippi QSO Party              Apr 7 

Missouri                  Missouri QSO Party              Apr 7 (tentative)

Montana       7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4

Nebraska       Nebraska QSO Party              Apr 6 (tentative)

Nevada                    Nevada QSO Party                           Oct 12

                     7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4

New Hampshire     New England QSO Party              May 4

                     New Hampshire QSO Party Sep 21 

New Jersey       New Jersey QSO Party              Sep 21

New Mexico       New Mexico QSO Party              Apr 13

Nevada                   Nevada QSO Party                           Oct 12

New York       New York QSO Party              Oct 19

North Carolina       North Carolina QSO Party              Feb 25 

North Dakota       North Dakota QSO Party              Apr 13

Nova Scotia       NSARA Contest                           Mar 3 (tentative)

Ohio                    Ohio QSO Party                           Aug 24

Oklahoma       Oklahoma QSO Party              Mar 9

Ontario                    Ontario QSO Party                           Apr 20

Oregon                    7th Call Area QSO Party                  May 4

Pennsylvania       Pennsylvania QSO Party              Oct 12 

Quebec       Quebec QSO Party                           Apr 21 (tentative)

Rhode Island       New England QSO Party              May 4 

Saskatchewan       Canadian Prairies QSO Party May 11

South Carolina       South Carolina QSO Party              Feb 24

South Dakota       South Dakota QSO Party              Oct 12

Tennessee       Tennessee QSO Party              Sep 1 

Texas                    Texas QSO Party                           Sep 21

Utah                    7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4

Vermont       New England QSO Party              May 4

                     Vermont QSO Party              Feb 3 

Virginia       Virginia QSO Party                           Mar 16 

Washington       Washington State Salmon Run Sep 21

                     7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4 

West Virginia         West Virginia QSO Party              Jun 15

Wisconsin              Wisconsin QSO Party              Mar 10

Wyoming       7th Call Area QSO Party              May 4

 

 

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

 

 

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 2023. 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 1.5, in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer, is lost in the glow at the start of the month, but emerges in the morning sky on January 3, rising at 5:15 AM, 1 hour 34 minutes before the Sun and reaches an altitude of 11° before fading from view as dawn breaks at 6:20 AM.

 

Look for him about three fists at arm’s length lower left of Venus.

 

On January 7 he will reach “dichotomy” or be half lit.

 

He will reach highest altitude in the sky of 17° on January 8 and his greatest separation from the Sun, or “Greatest Western Elongation” on January 12.  This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

 

By midmonth he will rise at 5:12 AM, 1 hour 37 minutes before the Sun and reaches an altitude of 12° before fading from view as dawn breaks at 6:25 AM.

 

He will disappear from view, being lost in the glow of the Sun on January 23.

 

Venus, magnitude –4.1, in Libra, The Scales, the brilliant “Morning Star”, is moving receding towards the Sunrise.

 

At the first of the month, she rises at 3:56 AM CST, 2 hours and 53 minutes before the Sun, and reaches an altitude of 25° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at 6:32 AM CST.

 

By the 15th she will rise at 4:22 AM CST, 2 hours and 27 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of 21° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:32 AM CST.

 

By months end, she will rise around 4:46 AM CST, 1 hours and 56 minutes before the Sun and reach an altitude of 16° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:26 AM 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 2, at 6:38 PM CST, when the planet will be 0.98329 Astronomical Units or 91,403,000 miles from the Sun

 

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude +1.4, in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer

is lost in the glow of the Sun.

 

The Autumnal Equinox for Mars Northern hemisphere will occur January 12.

 

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +8.9, is in Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer.

 

Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.5, is in Aries, The Ram, 

Is an early evening object.

 

At the beginning of the month, he will become visible around 5:06 PM CST, 53° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 7:15 PM, 68° above the southern horizon and will continue to be observable until around 1:09 AM, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon. 

 

By midmonth he becomes accessible around 5:17 PM CST, 64° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 6:22 PM CST, 68° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 12:16 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

 

By the end of the month, he will become accessible around 5:32 PM CST, 69° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and will continue to be observable until around 12:01 AM, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

 

Saturn, magnitude +1.0, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, will soon disappear behind the Sun.

 

At the first of the month, he becomes accessible around 5:24 PM CST, 36° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will continue to be observable until around 8:55 PM, when he sinks below 11° above the south-western horizon.

 

By midmonth he will become accessible around 5:36 PM CST, 27° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the south-western horizon, setting at 8:07 PM.

 

At months end he becomes visible around 5:51 PM, CST, at his highest point in the sky, 17° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness.  He will continue to be observable until around  7:12 PM CST, when he sinks below 11° above the south-western horizon.

 

Uranus, magnitude +5.7, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is currently visible as an evening object, becoming visible around 5:53 PM CST, 55° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach its highest point in the sky at 8:09 PM, 73° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:10 AM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

By midmonth he will become visible around 6:03 PM CST, at an altitude of 67° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades into darkness. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 7:13 PM CST, 73° above the southern horizon.  He will continue to be observable until around 12:14 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At month’s end he becomes visible around 6:17 PM CST, at an altitude of 73° above the eastern horizon at his highest point in the sky at. He will continue to be observable until around 12:59 AM 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 currently visible in the evening sky.  At the first of the month, he becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes at 5:53 PM CST, at an altitude of 49° above the south-western horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He will fade from view around 10:39 PM  when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At midmonth he will become accessible around 6:03 PM CST, 41° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will continue to be observable until around 9:45 PM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.  

 

At the end of the month, he becomes accessible around 6:17 CST PM, 28° above the south-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will continue to be observable until around 8:44 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

 

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

 

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

 

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.7 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 between Hydra and Sextans, The Sextant.

 

50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Scutum, The Shield.

 

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.8 in Taurus, The Bull.

 

225088 Gonggong, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

 

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

 

120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea glows at magnitude 20.7 in Andromeda, The Chained Woman. 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, Asteroid 2018 AG37, nicknamed “FarFarOut”, which is 12.2 billion miles or 18 hours, 14 minutes and 33 seconds from Earth, , glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx. 

 

The most distant man-made object, and the most distant known object in the Solar System Voyager 1, still operating after 46 years, 3 months and 23 days is 15,144,718,855 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 34 minutes and 59 Seconds from Earth as of 10:27 AM, December 28, 2023, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

 

There are 1,308,871 known asteroids as of December 28, 2023, per NASA.  

 

5566 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of December 18, 2023 per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

 

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on January 1, when she will be 251.600 miles from Earth.

 

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur January 3, at 9:32 PM CST or 03:32 UTC, January 4.

 

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

The Quadrantids Meteor Shower will occur Tuesday & Wednesday, 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 waning gibbous moon will block out some of the fainter meteors, but if you are patient this could still be a good 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.

 

New Moon occurs January 11 at 5:59 AM CST or 11:59 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.

 

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on January 13, when she will be 225,100 miles from Earth.

 

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur January 17 at 9:53 PM CST or 03:53UTC on January 18.

 

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

 

Full Moon will occur January 25, at 11:55 AM CST or 17:55 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 29, when she will be 252,141 miles from Earth.

 

The biggest astronomical event of 2024 will be the Great North American Eclipse, which is a total solar eclipse that will occur April 8, 2024.

 

The total eclipse will be visible inside strip of land approximately 118 miles wide, starting from the western coast of Mexico, passing through central Texas, Arkansas, southeast Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, the northwestern tip of Pennsylvania, New York, northern Vermont and New Hampshire and ending in Maine, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland Island.

 

Alabama will have a deep partial eclipse.

 

More information will come as the event draws near.

 

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

This month’s meeting will be on January 9 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,

 

I hope this finds you well, and untouched by the hobgoblin attack of last night.  We had no trick or treaters this year, so you know what that means.  Yes, I have to eat ALL of the candy.  Which is a tough job, but someone has to do it. It is my civic duty.  I’m “taking one for the team”,

 

As we enter November, we also enter the Fall tornado season.  The Fall season is often more severe than the Spring Season. 

 

Just as in the Spring, you need to review your plans and procedures and take this time brush up on your skills, check and prepare your equipment

 

What condition are your antennas in?  I found bamboo had grown into my HF antenna, throwing the SWR far off.

 

Does your transmitter still transmit, and your receiver still receive?

 

How long has it been since you charged your handie-talkies?  Don’t trust the “battery indicator”, as it may be for “show” only.

 

If you bought a HT for “SHTF”, have you learned how to use it by getting the appropriate license and learning the skill through regular use?  

 

That’s the only way you can learn what works, doesn’t work, where, why and when, and how to overcome problems that reveal themselves, and what to expect performance and skill wise. 

 

Thinking you will just whip out a radio, make a call “halp, halp” and rescuers will suddenly appear rappelling out of helicopters, might look good in Hollywood’s imagination, but, reality can be a totally different situation 

 

Part of “preparedness” is preparing – learning and practicing skills and equipment.  Don’t let fantasy override reality, or slick advertising with “tactical” labels & 10,000 mile range, or social media bravado.  

 

You want to be so accustomed to using radios that it’s just as normal as using a telephone.  My wife and I are both hams, in fact that how we met, both on the air and at the BARC meetings.  To us “switching to RF” is just as normal as breathing.

 

While the sun is shining you want to take the time to learn and prepare now.  For, if you wait, assuming everything will work when it isn’t, it may be tragically too late.

 

While mentioning radios, does your NOAA Weatheradio have a battery backup? If so, make sure you have fresh batteries and that it still works.  NOAA tests these radios (unless severe weather is expected) every Saturday and Wednesday around 11 AM.

 

If you use a Smartphone, install phone Apps from local broadcast media and make sure your phone Apps are up to date.  

 

Do not rely on social media posts.  Even broadcast media posts, as some social medium algorithms can accidently “bury” a warning in the newsfeed or be very much delayed. For example, I get push notifications from “X”, formerly Twitter, sometimes three days after the event.  On the other hand,  by monitoring it real-time, it can be lightning fast, pun absolutely intended.

 

Also, beware of good meaning “amateur weather experts”, including myself.  Instead trust the REAL experts at our NWS. They have the training, knowledge and expertise, which you can place confidence in.

 

What about “tornado sirens”?  Don’t depend on them, as not all locations have them and you can be in an acoustical shadow even if you are in an area that does have them.

 

If you hear one sounding, find out why. 

 

And, if it is sounding and the sky is crystal clear, don’t ignore it.  There is a reason why they are still sometimes called “air raid” sirens. You might better check and see what’s going on in case someone in Moscow woke up with a migraine and hit the wrong button.

 

“ох дерьмо!  ;-( “ or  “Oh crap!  ;-( ”

 

Hopefully we will have a calm Fall as we look forward toward Thanksgiving and the Holiday Season.

 

Stay safe!

 

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 

 

Spy & Numbers Stations Decoded

 

(Occasionally I get requests to revisit or repeat a previous article. The following was originally published in the September 2017 Newsletter.)

 

Radio in its various forms has always been a fascinating hobby to me.  My first exposure to radio, other than me having the AM radio blasting music, was listening to my brother, Sonny K4FHX’s ham radio, and the weird sounds emanating from his speaker.  When he got out of the hobby in the early sixties he gave me his equipment. But, I was six years old, and of course I destroyed every piece of that Hallicrafters gear.  All that is left today is the Speed-X straight key, which I still use to this day.

 

My next exposure to radio was with my Uncle Luther’s shortwave radio, listening to the strange squeaks and squawks and some tick-tocking station with a guy saying “thirteen hours forty five minutes Greenwich Mean Time”.  

 

Seeing that I was hooked, my parents gave me a Ross shortwave radio the Christmas of 1972.

 

I would stay up into the wee hour of the night listening, usually with the lights turned off, so my parents wouldn’t worry why I wasn’t asleep, listening to stations all over the country and all over the world.

 

The radio did not have a beat frequency oscillator or BFO, so I was unable to listen to sideband signals.  All I heard were people who sounded like they were gargling with wet socks.

 

One of the mysteries of those days was something called “Spy and Numbers” stations. 

 

These would come on at irregular intervals up and down the band, but, usually just below the 40 meter band.  They were always in AM, and though I have heard them in English and German, the strongest were in Spanish, usually female, with a strange regularly spaced clacking sound in the background.

 

The typical format was as follows:

 

Either at the top or the bottom of the hour after about 20 minutes of a carrier with that strange clacking sound, the call would begin something like this:

 

“Attencion, attencion…..quatro cinco uno…..quatro cinco uno…..quarto cinco uno…

uno ocho sies ocho quatro ocho tres uno tres……repeata….. uno ocho sies ocho quatro ocho tres uno tres…..fine…fine…” 

 

And then the signal would disappear as mysteriously as it had appeared.

 

What were these signals?

 

The leading theory was that they originated in Cuba and were being sent to covert operatives in the US.  But, nothing could ever be proved.  

 

Until now.

 

Recently Dateline NBC had the story of an ex-Soviet spy who defected and fell off the radar and for decades lived and raised a family using an assumed identity.  In the story he said he received his instructions “from numbers given in Spanish on a shortwave radio from Cuba”.  

 

Mystery solved.  But, how did it work?

 

The following is what I was told by a gentleman, now deceased who was in the Air Force OSI – Office Of Special Investigations.  I feel safe describing this because many years have passed and technology has progressed to where things are delivered via “other means”.

 

The code was an unbreakable code.  

 

To use it you simply needed two people with two identical books, with the same publisher and edition.  Which book didn’t matter really.  It could be Macbeth, The Gospel of Luke, The ALERT Newsletter, etc. 

They just had to have the same page number, paragraph and word location.

 

The first three numbers given after the “Attencion” was the operative’s number.

 

The long sequence of numbers told where to look in the book. 

 

“uno ocho sies ocho quatro ocho tres uno tres” or in English “106040313”

 

Which mean Page 106, Paragraph 04, Line 03, Word 13

 

They would simply write down the numbers and look them up in the book.  

 

But, which book?  That’s what made it unbreakable.  Only they two parties involved knew which book, and they would change that on a regular basis or as needed.

 

Let’s say Agent 008 (that’s 007’s clutzy partner) needed money.  He might use the Gideon Bible, and choose:

 

“my God will meet all your NEEDS according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” and then 

“For the love of MONEY is the root of all evil…”

 

After deciphering the page, paragraph and locating words 7 & 5 the recipient would that know Agent 008 “needs money”.

 

And so ends the mystery of the Spy & Numbers stations.

 

This is 008 signing out…

 

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

Mark’s Almanac

 

With the arrival of November we enter our second tornado season.  Alabama and the Southeast are “blessed” by being the only area on Earth having two tornado seasons.  The cause of the second season is the same as the spring season – clashes of cold and warm air masses.  The cold air of winter is invading and trying to push the warmth of the summer back into the sea, which is the same process of springtime.

 

This second season is often more destructive than the spring season.  From 1950 to 2020 there have been 279 November tornadoes in Alabama resulting in 52 fatalities and 1069 injuries.  The third largest tornado outbreak occurred on November 24 – 25 2001 when 36 tornadoes occurred and 21 tornadoes occurred during the outbreak of November 23 – 24 2004.

 

November was Alabama’s leading tornado month from 2001 to 2011 until the dual outbreaks of April 15 and April 27 2011 erased that record.

 

So beware of a warm & muggy November day.  Especially one with a south wind, as something may really be “in the air”.

 

The Hurricane threat greatly diminishes, with hurricane activity occurring mainly in the open Atlantic, threatening the Eastern Seaboard, but usually veering off into sea as cold fronts off the East Coast deflect them.  Hurricanes can still form in the Caribbean, which usually visit the Yucatan, but can enter the Gulf.

 

From 1851 – 2022 there have been 101 Tropical Storms and 50 hurricanes, 6 of which made landfall in the United States.  

 

Some notable November hurricanes are:

 

The 1932 Cuba hurricane, known also as the Hurricane of Santa Cruz del Sur or the 1932 Camagüey Hurricane. Although forming as a tropical depression on October 30, it became the only Category 5 Atlantic hurricane ever recorded in November, and was the deadliest and one of the most intense tropical cyclones in Cuban history. On November 6, the tropical cyclone reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph. The storm weakened to Category 4 intensity as it came ashore in Cuba’s Camagüey Province on November 9 with winds of 150 mph.  The storm took 3,033 lives.

 

Hurricane Ida, in 2009 was the strongest land falling tropical cyclone during the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. Ida formed on November 4 in the southwestern Caribbean, and within 24 hours struck the Nicaragua coast with winds of 80 mph.  It weakened significantly over land, although it restrengthened in the Yucatán Channel to peak winds of 105 mph. Ida weakened and became an extratropical cyclone in the northern Gulf of Mexico before spreading across the southeastern United States. The remnants of Ida contributed to the formation of a nor’easter that significantly affected the eastern coast of the United States.

 

1985’s Hurricane Kate was the latest Hurricane in any calendar year to strike the United States.

Kate formed on November, 15 and reached hurricane intensity on November 16, and reached Category 2 intensity three days later. Kate struck the northern coast of Cuba on November 19. Once clear of land, she strengthened quickly, becoming a Category 3 storm and reached its peak intensity of 120 mph. On November 21 Kate came ashore near Mexico Beach, Florida, as Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph.

 

Hurricane Lenny, or Wrong Way Lenny, occurred in 1999. It is the second-strongest November Atlantic hurricane on record, behind the 1932 Cuba hurricane. Lenny formed on November 13 in the western Caribbean Sea and moved retrograde from the West to East passing South of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.  He reached hurricane status south of Jamaica on November 15 and rapidly intensified over the northeastern Caribbean on November 17, attaining peak winds of 155 mph near Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It gradually weakened while moving through the Leeward Islands, eventually dissipating on November 23 over the open Atlantic Ocean.

 

1994’s Hurricane Gordon claimed 1122 lives in Haiti when it passed just west of the country as a tropical storm on November 13, 1994.

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2 – November Tropical Cyclone Breeding Grounds

 

Both the Atlantic and Pacific Hurricane seasons ends November 30.

 

Days rapidly grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 40.9 degrees at the beginning of the month to 34.8 degrees at the month’s end.  Daylight decreases from 10 hours 40 minutes on November 1 to 10 hours 07 minutes on November 30.

 

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

 

November 1 Sunrise 7:06 AM   Sunset 5:55 PM

November 15 Sunrise 6:19 AM   Sunset 4:45 PM  –  After Daylight Savings Time Ends

November 31 Sunrise 6:33 AM   Sunset 4:39 PM

 

The blooms of summer have faded, but you may find yourself still sneezing, due to ragweed and mold.

 

Mold is a fall allergy trigger. You may think of mold growing in your basement or bathroom – damp areas in the house – but mold spores also love wet spots outside. Piles of damp leaves are ideal breeding grounds for mold.

 

Oh, and did I mention dust mites? While they are common during the humid summer months, they can get stirred into the air the first time you turn on your heat in the fall. Dust mites can trigger sneezes, wheezes, and runny noses.

 

November welcomes the peak of fall colors.  For Birmingham the peak occurs around November 15, but the date can vary depending on your elevation & latitude.

 

Indian Summer and Squaw Winter continue to battle it out, but the cool or cold weather will eventually win, with the first average frost being on November 11.  

 

The usual fall effects occur in North America with Canada’s Hudson Bay becoming unnavigable due to pack ice & icebergs.  Navigation in the Great Lakes becomes perilous due to storms bringing the “Gales Of November” made famous in the Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”.

 

And, don’t be surprised if you hear ducks overhead & see wedges of Canadian geese heading south for the winter.  And if you see strange birds appearing in your front yard, remember that for 336 species of birds Alabama IS south for the winter.

 

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

 

Mercury, magnitude -1.2, in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.  He will reach “Aphelion” or his furthest distance from the Sun, on November 6.

 

Venus, magnitude –4.5, in Leo The Lion, dominates the predawn morning sky as the brilliant “Morning Star”.  

 

At the first of the month, she rises at 3:23 AM CDT, 3 hours and 40 minutes before the Sun, and reaches an altitude of 40° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at 6:47 AM.

 

On November 9, the Moon will pass 1°, or two lunar diameters, North of Venus.

 

Remembering that time changes back to Standard Time on November the 5th, she rises an hour earlier after the 5th and by the 15th will rise at 2:39 AM CST, 3 hours and 37 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of 38° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:59 AM CST.

 

By the end of the month she will rise around 3:00 AM CST and reach an altitude of 35° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:13 AM CST.

 

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

 

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude +1.5, in Libra, The Scales, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

 

He will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Conjunction” on November 17.

 

Dwarf Planet Ceres shines at magnitude +8.8 in Libra, The Scales. 

 

Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, magnitude -2.9, is in Aries, The Ram.

 

At the beginning of the month, Jupiter becomes visible just before 7:00 PM CDT, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon, and reaches his highest point in the sky at 12:40 AM CDT, 70° above the southern horizon. 

 

He will dominate the evening and early morning skies before fading from view at 6:37 AM CDT, when he drops below 7° over the western horizon.

 

Jupiter will be opposite the sky from the Sun, at “Opposition” just before midnight on November 2.

 

The giant planet will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. It will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium-sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter’s cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet.

 

At mid-month he will become visible around 5:00 PM CST, 12° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky around 10:30 PM CST, 69° above the southern horizon and will continue to be observable until around 4:30 AM CST, as he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

 

By month’s end he will become visible around 4:55 PM CST, 24° above the eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness and will then reach its highest point in the sky around 9:30 PM CST, 69° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:30 AM CST, when he sinks below 7° above the western horizon.

 

Saturn, magnitude +0.7, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, as an early evening object.  

 

At the beginning of the month, he comes visible around 6:30 PM CDT, 36° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness.

 

He then reaches his highest point in the sky around 8:14 PM CDT, 43° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until just before 1 AM CDT, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.

 

At midmonth he becomes visible around 5:16 PM CST, 41° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 6:1 PM CST, 43° above the southern horizon and will continue to be visible until around 10:47 PM CST, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.

 

At months end he becomes visible around 5:12 PM, CST, at his highest point in the sky, 43° above the southern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness.  He will continue to be observable until around 9:50 PM CST, when he sinks below 11° above the south-western horizon.

 

Uranus, magnitude +5.7, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is currently visible as a morning object, becoming visible around 8:18 PM CDT, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. 

 

He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 1:21 AM CDT, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:03 AM CDT, 25° above the western horizon.

 

Uranus will be opposite the sky from the Sun, at “Opposition” at 11:12 PM CST on November 13.

 

By midmonth he will become visible around 6:17 PM CST, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 11:20 PM CST, 74° above the southern horizon. 

He will continue to be observable until around 4:23 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At month’s end he becomes visible around 5:41 PM CST, at an altitude of 26° above the eastern horizon as dusk fades into darkness. He reaches his highest point in the sky at 10:18 PM CST, 73° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 3:21 AM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

Neptune, magnitude 7.7, and his 14 moons and ring, in Pisces, The Fish, becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes at 6:55 PM CDT, at an altitude of 35° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 9:45 PM CDT, 53° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 1:49 CDT AM when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At midmonth he will become accessible around 5:45 PM CST, 42° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 7:50 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 11:53 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At the end of the month, he becomes accessible around 5:51 CST PM, 49° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 6:50 PM CST, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 10:53 PM CST, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

 

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

 

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

 

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.6 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

 

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

 

90482 Orcus, and his moon Vanth shines at magnitude 19.1 between Hydra and Sextans, The Sextant.

 

50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Scutum, The Shield.

 

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.8 in Taurus, The Bull.

 

225088 Gonggong, originally nicknamed Snow White by the discovery team, and his moon Xiangli glows dimly at +21.5 magnitude in Aquarius, The Water Bearer.

 

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

 

Joining our list of possible Dwarf Planets is 120347 Salacia, and her moon Actaea.  Glowing at magnitude 20.7 in Andromeda, The Chained Woman. Salacia is considered a “borderline” Dwarf Planet. Some astronomers say she “most certainly is a Dwarf Planet”, while others disagree based on her size, saying she is too small to have compressed into a fully solid body, to have been resurfaced, or to have collapsed into “hydrostatic equilibrium”, that is to assume spherical shape like a planet.

 

This dark world lies beyond the orbit of Neptune, orbiting 4,164,420,166 miles from the Sun. 

 

Currently the most distant observable known object in the Solar System, Asteroid 2018 AG37, nicknamed “FarFarOut”, which is 12.3 billion miles or 18 hours, 21 minutes and 42 seconds from Earth, , glows at a barely detectable +25.5 magnitude in Lynx. 

 

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 46 years, 1 months and 20 days is 15,069,260,971 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 28 minutes and 14 Seconds from Earth as of 1:42 PM, October 25, 2023, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

 

There are 1,308,871 known asteroids as of October 25, 2023, per NASA.  Most of the larger ones look like giant cratered and rubble strewn russet potatoes.

 

5528 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of October 9, 2023 per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

 

Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 AM November 4.  Make sure to replace your smoke alarm batteries and if you have a battery backup on  your NOAA Weather radio, replace those batteries also.

 

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur October 5 at 2:37 AM CDT or 8:37 UTC.

 

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

 

The Southern Taurids Meteor Shower. The Taurid Meteor shower is an unusual shower in that it consists of two streams – the Southern and Northern Taurids.  The first, the Southern Taurids, is produced by dust grains left behind by Asteroid 2004 TG10. The first stream reaches Earth on November 5th and 6th,

 

This is a minor shower, producing only 5 to 10 meteors per hour.

 

A 44% Last Quarter Moon will wash out the dimmer meteors, but, it is still worth the effort to see,  The meteors will appear to originate from the Constellation Taurus, but could appear anywhere in the sky.

 

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on November 6, when she will be 251,381 miles from Earth.

 

The Northern Taurid Meteor Shower, the second of the two Taurid streams, will occur November 11 & 12. The Northern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The second stream is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. 

 

The shower runs annually from September 7 to December 10. It peaks this year on the night of the 11th and morning of the 12th. A New Moon will not interfere with this shower.

 

Best viewing will be just after midnight from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus but can appear anywhere in the sky.

 

New Moon will occur November 13. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This phase occurs at 09:28 UTC or 4:28 AM CST. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

 

The annual Leonid meteor shower occurs from November 6 – 30 and peaks on the night of November 17 & the morning of the 18th.  Though the Leonids are an “average shower”, producing only an average of 15 meteors per hour, they are well known for producing bright meteors and fireballs. 

 

This shower is also unique in that it has a cyclonic peak about every 33 years where hundreds of meteors per hour can be seen. That last of these occurred in 2001 and the next should occur in 2034. The Leonids are produced by dust grains left behind by Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which was discovered in 1865. 

 

Its productivity varies per year, but it can deposit 12 to 13 tons of particles across the planet.  Which is why having an atmosphere to shield us is such a nifty thing.

 

The waxing crescent moon will set before midnight leaving dark skies for what should be a great early morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Leo, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

 

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur November 21 at 4:50 AM CST or 10:50 UTC/

 

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

 

The Moon will be at Perigee or its closest approach to Earth on November 21, when she will be 229,797 miles from Earth.

 

Full Moon will occur November 27. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. This phase occurs at 4:17 AM CST or 9:17 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Beaver Moon because this was the time of year to set the beaver traps before the swamps and rivers froze. It has also been known as the Frosty Moon and the Dark Moon.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

This month’s meeting will be on November 14 at 7 PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.

 

Hope to see you there!

 

 

Mark / WD4NYL

Editor

ALERT Newsletter

Hi everyone and welcome to the October ALERT Newsletter.

 

Fall has arrived and with it we can look forward to the changing of the fall leaves, the occasional nip in the air, and perhaps Hobgoblins visiting us at the end of the month.

 

October is a fun time of the year, usually being not too hot and not too cold – the “Goldilocks” of seasons.  

 

It is a time to enjoy fall football, the baseball playoffs, of which my Cubbies have a 4% chance of reaching, and the last outdoor adventures of the year.

 

Here is hoping that you safely enjoy the days that this season and the pretty weather October brings.  

 

 

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

 

 

NWS Open House 2023

 

The NWS will open their office for public tours on Saturday, October 14th, 2023, from 10 am until 3 pm. Come take a look inside the operations area, meet the staff, and enjoy a variety of displays from local first responders and core government and private partners. There will be several activities for the kids, including trick-or-treating and a chance to help launch a weather balloon! 

 

What:   NWS Birmingham Open House

 

Where: National Weather Service

             465 Weathervane Rd Calera, AL

             (Located at the Shelby County Airport)

 

When:  Saturday, October 14, 2023

             Public Tours 10 AM – 3 PM

 

Admission is FREE!!

 

Things to Do:

 

There are activities for the whole family to enjoy at the Open House. Come prepared to learn about weather safety and preparedness in fun and exciting ways. The little ones are encouraged to come dressed in their Halloween costumes ready for some trick-or-treating!

 

Fun for the Whole Family:

 

Tour local National Weather Service (NWS) office.

Meet the local NWS meteorologists.

Learn how weather radar works by viewing the UAH MAX mobile radar.

Watch a weather balloon release at 12pm.

Tour various emergency vehicles from local fire departments and law enforcement.

Visit with local TV meteorologists and tour their storm chase vehicles (Birmingham & Montgomery stations).

Walk through exhibits from various local agencies & organizations.

Meet Owlie Skywarn & Sparky the Fire Dog.

Learn about weather safety & preparedness.

Enter to win a NOAA weather radio.

Grab some lunch from several local food trucks!

 

Special Activities for the Kids:

 

Trick-or-treating

Coloring contest

Scavenger hunt

Pictures with Owlie Skywarn (owl mascot)

Kids’ booth with various handouts & weather experiments you can do at home

Win chance to launch a weather balloon with Owlie! (Launch is scheduled for 12PM)

 

Directions

 

If using a GPS device for directions to the office, please use Shelby County Airport as the destination. In most cases, GPS does not place our address in the correct location.

 

Directions From I-65 South:

 

Take exit 234 (County Road 87).

Turn right onto Co Rd 87.

At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Weathervane Rd.

 

Directions From I-65 North:

 

Take exit 234 (County Road 87).

Turn left onto Co Rd 87.

At the roundabout, take the first exit onto Weathervane Rd.

 

*No Smoking

**In the event of severe weather, the open house may need to be cancelled.

***No pets allowed. Service dogs permitted.

****No drugs, weapons, or alcohol of any kind allowed.

 

 

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

 

 

Birmingham NWS Fall 2023 Spotter Courses

 

 

The Birmingham NWS will be offering several online and in person Basic and Advanced Spotter Courses this fall. These classes are FREE and allow individuals to complete these courses in the comfort of their own home or office as well as in a traditional format. 

 

By attending any course, which runs about 2 hours, an individual or a group of individuals will become SKYWARN Spotters. 

 

Unless you want to or are in need of a refresher, you do not need to attend more than one Basic SKYWARN Course, as the material covered is the same; however, it is required that you attend at least one Basic SKYWARN Course before taking the Advanced SKYWARN Course. These courses are two-way, meaning you will be able to interact with the meteorologist leading the training. You will be muted while training is in-progress, but you may use the built-in chat feature to ask questions.

 

 

 

 

To attend the Online Spotter Class:

 

1. Via the schedule below, register by clicking the link

corresponding to the class you’d like to attend.  

2. Select the ‘join webinar’ button on the registration page or

in your confirmation email and follow the prompts.

3. Enjoy the class and ask questions.

 

To avoid being hurried, give yourself at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the class to complete the above process.

 

The current schedule is as follows:

 

Online:

 

Basic Class            Thursday, October 5 at 6:30 PM              Class Registration Link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4295395439412965977

 

Basic Class        Thursday, October 19 at 6:30 PM      Class Registration Link:

            https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/387896041041244510

 

Basic Class        Tuesday, October 24 at 1:00 PM            Class Registration Link:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6828852748739111258

 

Advanced Class    Thursday, October 26, at 6:30 PM           Class Registration Link:

            https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2457639818911010650

 

In Person:

 

Basic Class             Wednesday, October 18  at 6:30 PM        Community Listening Session

                                                                                                      Venue To Be Announced

                                                                                                      Selma, AL

 

Basic Class             Tuesday, October 24  at TBA*                   Talladega Central Alabama Community 

                                                                                                       College

            109 South Street E

                                                                                                       Talladega, AL

 

*To be announced

 

These classes will help you provide the NWS the vital “ground truth” information they need to verify radar indications, target their attention and help you relay reports in a clear manner to the NWS, either directly via 205-664-3010 and pressing 2, online at https://www.weather.gov/bmx/submitstormreport

or via chat or amateur radio.  This knowledge helps Skywarn Net Control stations filter reports, by giving them knowledge of what reporting stations are trying to describe.  This way they can tell if the report is a valid report, an invalid report by an overly excited operator or a valid, but poorly described report, which without this knowledge would be mistakenly dismissed.

 

For further information on these classes visit: http://www.weather.gov/bmx/skywarn

 

A PDF of the September 20, 2018 Basic presentation may be found at:

https://www.weather.gov/media/bmx/skywarn/BasicSpotterGSAT.pdf

 

A PDF of the April 4, 2019 Advanced presentation may be found at:

https://www.weather.gov/media/bmx/skywarn/Gerald_Satterwhite_Advanced_WEBPAGE.pdf

 

The NWS in Norman, OK have numerous YouTube videos worth exploring at:

https://www.youtube.com/user/NWSNorman/playlists

 

Other useful resources:

 

ABC33/40 Basic Storm Spotter Training

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_MzKUTfUKA

 

ABC 33/40 Storm Spotter Extreme Part 1 – April 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOE69nsaKWE

 

ABC 33/40 Storm Spotter Extreme Part 2 – April 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hT7gCCQB0

 

ABC 33/40 Storm Spotter Extreme Part 3 – April 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKHsAxNzqEM

 

For information on online training visit: 

https://www.meted.ucar.edu/training_course.php?id=23

 

Note this online course IS NOT intended to replace the courses offered by the NWS offices. The local meteorologists will know factors and variations in the area microclimate that may need to be considered in assessing the observed phenomena.  Consider this online course as supplemental information.

 

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

 

 

Mark’s Almanac

 

The tenth Month, October is so named because it is the eighth month on the Roman calendar.  To the Slavs of Eastern Europe it is called “yellow month,” from the fading of the leaves, while to the Anglo-Saxons it was known as Winterfylleth, because at this full moon (fylleth) winter was supposed to begin.

 

By whichever name you call it, October is a mild and dry month, the driest of the year, in fact.  And it is a sunny month with the amount of possible sunshine reaching the ground in the 60% or greater range.

 

Weather shifts from autumn pattern to revisiting the summer pattern and back again. The Azores-Bermuda High shifts eastward into the Atlantic, but leaves weakened high pressure centers over the Virginias, which still try to block out approaching fronts.

 

October is usually a quite month for tornadoes, with a 40% decrease in activity.  Nationwide an average of 28 tornadoes occur in October and those tornadoes are usually weak.

 

Our Hurricane threat continues, with hurricane activity increasing during the first half of the month, concentrating in the Caribbean, both from formation in the Caribbean and from the long track Cape Verde hurricanes, which enter the Caribbean.  And, we still have the little “gifts” that the Gulf of Mexico occasionally will provide.  

 

Florida, due to its low latitude, becomes especially vulnerable to hurricanes.  Since 1851, Florida has endured 31 October hurricane landfalls, nearly triple the next highest state — Louisiana, which has had eight. Also, about 60 percent of all U.S. hurricanes that made landfall after September 26 have done so in Florida.  One factor being the cold fronts of Fall penetrating the Gulf and then deflecting storms towards the West coast of Florida.

 

Luckily after the second half of the month the activity will begin a steady decrease.  

 

28% of the year’s hurricanes occur in October.

 

From 1851 – 2022 there have been 365 Tropical Storms and 218 hurricanes, 60 of which made landfall in the United States.    

 

Some notable October hurricanes are: 

 

The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as Huracán San Calixto, the Great Hurricane of the Antilles, and the 1780 Disaster, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane, which killed between 20,000 to 22, 000 people in the Lesser Antilles as it passed through from October 10 – 16, 1780.  It is possible that it had winds in excess of 200 MPH when it reached Barbados.  

 

Hurricane Hazel struck the Carolinas in 1954.  Weather satellite did not yet exist, and the Hurricane Hunters were unable to observe the core of the storm until it neared land on October 15.  Hazel made landfall just west of the North Carolina/South Carolina border slightly northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a Category 4 intensity of 130 mph.

 

Hurricane Wilma still holds the record as the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin.  In 24 hours, Wilma went from a Category 1 storm on October 18 to a Category 5 storm with 185 MPH Maximum Sustained Winds.  She weakened to Category 4 and struck the Yucatan, then restrengthened and struck Cape Romano Florida as a Category 3 storm on October 24, 2005.

 

Hurricane Mitch became a Category 1 hurricane on October 24, 1998, and within 48 hours grew to Category 5 intensity, and though he weakened to Category 1 before making landfall, he became the second deadliest hurricane on record killing over 11,000, with nearly that number missing in Central America due to intense rainfall and mudslides.  He would eventually reach the United States making landfall near Naples Florida on November 5.

 

Hurricane Michael formed near the Yucatan Peninsula on October 7, 2018, and in 72 hours grew from a Tropical Depression to a Category 5 hurricane striking struck Mexico Beach Florida.

 

Beware of October hurricanes, for as Wilma, Mitch and Michael have demonstrated, they can experience explosive growth.

 

 

 

 

October Tropical Cyclone Breeding Grounds

 

This is the month for Alabama’s version of “Indian Summer’s” arrival.  

 

Technically speaking Indian Summer doesn’t occur until “Squaw Winter” or the first frost arrives, but exact date when Indian Summer arrives varies with latitude.  

 

We live in Alabama, and while the earliest frosts have been known to occur by October 17, they usually wait until November. So, we, in our milder climate call the first warm up after the first cool down “Indian Summer”.

 

The Yellow Giant Sulphur Butterflies are very noticeable as they continue to drift South-Southeast on their migration towards Florida.  They prefer red things & if you have red flowers, they will zero in on them. 

 

The Monarchs also will be seen gliding by in their migration towards Central America.

 

Fall colors will become prominent & by late October & early November the leaves will be reaching their peak fall colors.

 

Days rapidly grow shorter as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon steadily decreases from 53.2 degrees at the beginning of the month to 42.3 degrees at the month’s end.  Daylight decreases from 11 hours 50 minutes on October 1 to 10 hours 51 minutes on October 31.

 

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

 

October 1 Sunrise 5:41 AM   Sunset 6:32 PM

October 15 Sunrise 6:51 AM   Sunset 6:14 PM

October 31 Sunrise 7:05 AM   Sunset 5:56 PM

 

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Virgo, The Virgin.  

 

Mercury, magnitude -0.9 in Leo, The Lion, at the beginning of the month is barely visible in the dawn sky, rising at 5:29 AM, 1 hour and 9 minutes before the Sun and reaching an altitude of just 10° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:23 AM.

 

He will disappear on October 5th as he becomes lost in the glare of the Sun, and will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Superior Conjunction” on October 20.

 

Venus, magnitude -4.7 in Leo, The Lion, shines brilliantly in the early morning sky rising at the beginning of the month, at 3:13 AM, 3 hours and 25 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 38° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:23 AM.

 

By midmonth she will rise at 3:12 AM, 3 hours and 37 minutes before the Sun, and reaching an altitude of 40° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:33 AM.

 

On October 21 Venus will reach her highest point in the sky, reaching a peak altitude of 44° above the horizon at sunrise, and reach her greatest separation from the Sun, or “Greatest Western Elongation” on October 23.

 

By months end she will rise at 3:22 AM, 3 hours and 40 minutes before the Sun and reaching an altitude of 40° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 6:46 AM

 

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

 

Mars, magnitude +1.6, with his Moons Phobos and Deimos, in Virgo, The Virgin, is lost in the glow of the Sun.

 

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

 

Jupiter, magnitude –2.8, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring, in Aries, The Ram, shines brightly as an late evening / early morning object.

 

At the beginning of the month, he becomes visible around 8:55 PM, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 2:56 AM, 71° above the southern horizon, and will be lost in the dawn twilight around 6:23 AM, 39° above the western horizon.

 

By midmonth he becomes visible around 7:56 PM, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 1:55 AM, 70° above the southern horizon. He will be lost in dawn twilight around 6:33 AM, 24° above the western horizon.

 

At the end of the month, he becomes visible at around 6:47 PM, at an altitude of 7° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 12:44 AM, 70° above the southern horizon. He will be visible until around, 6:42 AM when he sinks below the western horizon.

 

Saturn, magnitude +0.6, and his 146 moons and extensive debris ring system, is in Aquarius, The Water Bearer, as an evening object.  

 

At the beginning of the month, he becomes visible around 7:00 PM, 23° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 10:20 PM, 43° above the southern horizon and will continue to be observable until around 2:50 AM, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.

 

At midmonth he becomes visible around 6:43 PM, 29° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 9:22 PM, 43° above the southern horizon and will continue to be visible until around 1:52 AM, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.

 

At months end he becomes visible around 6:26 PM, 36° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 9:18 PM, 43° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 12:47 AM, when he sinks below 10° above the south-western horizon.

 

Uranus, magnitude +5.7, and his 27 moons and ring, in Aries, The Ram, is currently visible as a morning object, becoming visible around 10:24 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 3:27 AM, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 5:40 AM, 56° above the western horizon.

 

By midmonth he will become visible around 9:27 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 2:31 AM , 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 5:50 AM, 42° above the western horizon.

 

At month’s end he becomes visible around 8:22 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He reaches his highest point in the sky at 1:25 AM, 74° above the southern horizon. He will be lost to dawn twilight around 6:02 AM, 26° above the western horizon.

 

Neptune, magnitude 7.7, and his 14 moons and ring, in Pisces, The Fish, becomes accessible via binoculars and telescopes between 7:46 PM, at an altitude of 21° above the eastern horizon. He will reach his highest point in the sky at 11:50 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will become inaccessible at around 3:54 AM when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At midmonth he will become accessible around 7:12 PM, 26° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 10:54 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 2:58 AM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

At the end of the month, he becomes accessible around 6:56 PM, 34° above the south-eastern horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then reach his highest point in the sky at 9:49 PM, 53° above the southern horizon. He will continue to be observable until around 1:53 AM, when he sinks below 21° above the western horizon.

 

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim +14.5 in Sagittarius, The Archer.

 

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

 

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

 

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia, originally referred to as Xena and Gabrielle, is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude +18.6 in Cetus the Sea Monster.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

90377 Sedna, the coldest, and at one time, the most distant known place in the Solar System, glows faintly at magnitude +20.8 in Taurus the Bull.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

FarFarOut is currently 12,355,641,596 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 25 minutes and 27.5 seconds from Earth.

 

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 46 years, 22 months and 5 days is 15,012,965,079 miles, or in Light Time, 22 hours, 23 minutes and 12 Seconds from Earth as of 12:57  PM, September 27, 2023, sailing 34,390 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

 

There are 1,312,822 known asteroids as of September 27, 2023, per NASA.

 

5523 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of September 20, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

 

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur October 6 at 8:47 AM CDT or 13-47 UTC.

 

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

 

The Draconid Meteor Shower will peak on October 8 & 9. This minor shower, which produces only 10 meteors per hour,  is produced by dust grains left behind by Comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner, which was discovered in 1900. This shower, which runs from October 6 – 10, is unusual in that it is best observed in the early evening, instead of the early morning hours as with most other showers.

 

The last quarter moon will be visible in the early morning but shouldn’t interfere too much. Best viewing will be in the early evening from a dark location far away from city lights. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Draco, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

 

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on October 9, when she will be 251,920 miles from Earth.

 

New Moon occurs October 25 at 12:56 PM CDT or 17:56 UTC, when the Moon will on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

 

An Annular Solar Eclipse will occur on October 14. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is too far away from the Earth to completely cover the Sun. This results in a ring of light around the darkened Moon. The Sun’s corona is not visible during an annular eclipse. 

 

The eclipse path will begin in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Canada and move across the southwestern United States and Central America, Columbia, and Brazil. A partial eclipse will be visible throughout much of North and South America.

 

In Birmingham the eclipse times are:

 

Partial Eclipse begins     10:38 AM

Maximum Eclipse            12:08 PM

Partial Eclipse Ends          1:42 PM

 

The Sun is never completely blocked by the Moon during an annular solar eclipse. Therefore, during an annular eclipse, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing.

 

Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury.

 

See 2023 Annular Eclipse safety sheet at:

https://smd-cms.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2023-safe-eclipse-viewing-flyer-digital-download.pdf

 

The Orionid Meteor Shower peaks on October 20 & 21. The Orionids is an average shower producing up to 20 meteors per hour at its peak This shower, which runs from October 2 to November 7, is produced by the broad debris trail of Halley’s Comet. 

 

The first quarter moon may block some of the dim meteors in the evening, but it will set shortly after midnight. This will leave dark skies for what could be a good morning show. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion, but can appear anywhere in the sky.

 

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur October 21 at 10:29 PM CDT or 03:29 UTC October 22.

 

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

 

The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on October 25, when she will be 226,722 miles from Earth.

 

October’s Full Moon will occur October 28.  The Moon will be directly opposite the Earth from the Sun and will be fully illuminated as seen from Earth. This phase occurs at 3:34 PM or 20:34 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Hunters Moon because at this time of year the leaves are falling, and the game is fat and ready to hunt. This moon has also been known as the Travel Moon and the Blood Moon. This full moon is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox each year.

 

If there is a solar or lunar eclipse, there will be a lunar or solar eclipse within two weeks.  Accordingly, there will be a Partial Lunar Eclipse on October 28.

 

A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the Earth’s partial shadow, or penumbra, and only a portion of it passes through the darkest shadow, or umbra. During this type of eclipse, a part of the Moon will darken as it moves through the Earth’s shadow. 

 

The eclipse will be visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and western Australia.

 

Southern Taurids Meteor Shower occurs October 29 & 30. The Southern Taurids is a long-running minor meteor shower producing only about 5-10 meteors per hour. This shower is, however, famous for producing a higher than normal percentage of bright fireballs. The Southern Taurids is produced by debris left behind by Comet 2P Encke. The shower runs annually from September 10 to November 20. It peaks this year on the night of the 29th and morning of the 30th.

 

Unfortunately, the Full Moon will wash out all but the brightest meteors. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight. Meteors will radiate from the constellation Taurus but can appear anywhere in the sky.

 

This is the time of year when the rich star clouds of the Milky Way in Cygnus cross the zenith, looking like a ghostly band overhead in the hour after nightfall is complete. The Milky Way now rises straight up from the southwest horizon, passes overhead, and runs straight down to the northeast. 

 

Later at midnight, Orion the Hunter and the stars of winter rise over the eastern horizon, reminding us to enjoy the mild weather while it is here, for this season, as all seasons, is but a fleeting moment in the never-ending waltz of time.

 

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

 

 

This month’s meeting will be on October 10 at 7 PM at the NWS Forecast Office in Calera.

 

Hope to see you there!

 

 

Mark / WD4NYL

Editor

ALERT Newsletter

 

Wd4nyl@bellsouth.net