ALERT NEWSLETTER – June 2025

Hi Everyone,

I hope this finds you well as we cruise into summer!

With summer’s arrival the tornado threat, which never disappears, eases, and while we will be greeted by hail and high winds from systems moving out of Missouri, our focus will shift to the Gulf and Atlantic as the hurricane season begins.

Though the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins June 1, the National Hurricane Center, to err on the side of caution should there be an early arriving storm, began issuing outlooks on May 15.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has issued it’s 2025 outlook, released May 22, and is calling for an “above normal” Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA predicts a likely range of 13 to 19 named storms, of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes, including 3 to 5 major hurricanes.

NOAA provides these ranges with 60% confidence in an above average season. A 30% chance of an average hurricane season, which normally produces 14 named storms, of which 7 become hurricanes, including 3 major hurricanes and 10% chance of a below normal season.

The UKMET Office is also calling for an “above average” season, with 16 named storms, of which 9 will become hurricanes and 4 becoming major hurricanes.

As mentioned last month, Colorado State University is also predicting an “above average” season, and AccuWeather is calling for an “dynamic” season, while the UK’s Tropical Storm Risk, calls for the season to be close to normal.

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter how many storms form, what matters is where they end up arriving. A year with 28 storms that never reach land isn’t overly significant, where a year with only one named storm and it being a repeat of Katrina, Camille or Andrew is.

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2025-2026 officers for ALERT!

The results of the 2025 are in and your Officers are:

• President: Johnnie Knobloch, KJ4OPX
• Vice President: Roger Parsons, KK4UDU
• Treasurer & Membership: Bill Rodgers, K4FSO
• Secretary: Justin Glass, N0ZO
• Public Information Officer: Kaila Szmajda, KR4BZF
• Training: Steven Moss, KB4FKN
• Board At Large: Mark Wells, WD4NYL
• Board At Large: Dale Chambers, KD4QHZ

Thank you for your dedication and willingness to serve!

A Hitch Hiker’s Guide To The Radio Frequency Spectrum – Part 4

At the last stop of our journey, we reached 10.000 MHz with WWV & WWVH.

Here are a few tidbits about WWV & WWVH you may find interesting.

The male voice used on WWV in Ft. Collins; Colorado is that of John Doyle. John Doyle was a veteran weathercaster for several television stations in the Atlanta metropolitan area, including WSB TV 2, WAGA TV 5, and WGCL TV 46.

The female voice used on WWVH in Kekaha Hawaii is an award winning Polynesian vocalist and hula dancer from Oahu….well, or so I of dreamed as a kid. In reality, the voice is that of American voice actress and singer Jane Barbe, also from Georgia. She was known as the “Time Lady” for the recordings she made for the Bell System and other phone companies. If you ever heard “the number you have reached is not in service at this time….” now you know who you were listening to.

To make these recordings, she sat in a recording studio and repeated the same words, phrases and sentences over and over and over, sometimes dozens of times. Then sound technicians carefully listened to each rendition, picking the best ones, equalizing and processing the audio and then stitch them together into the recordings you hear.

So, next time you are in an elevator and a ladies voice cheerfully says, “seventh floor”, just look up and say, “thanks Jane!”

People will think you are a lunatic, but that’s ok. They are probably thinking that anyway.

How much “juice” do these stations put out?

WWV 2.5 Kilowatts on 2.5, 20 & 25 MHz
10 Kilowatts on 5, 10 & 15 MHz
WWVH 5 Kilowatts on 2.5 MHz
10 Kilowatts on 5, 10 & 15 MHz

Both WWV & WWVH accept reception reports sent to the addresses mentioned in the station ID, and respond with a QSL card.

Make sure you include the frequency, time of day and an accurate signal report. Also, know that WWV has been requesting reports for its experimental 25 MHz broadcasts.

Continuing our tour, we find a small Aeronautical Band that lies from 10.005 to 10.100 MHz.

Aeronautical weather from Gander Newfoundland VOLMET is on 10.051 MHz, or will be until June 12, 2025, when it will permanently shut down.

Next we will come to the 30 Meter Amateur Band.

A small band, 30 Meters stretches from 10.100 to 10.150 MHz, and is open to General, Advanced and Extra class licensees. 30 Meters is unique in that it is the only non-voice HF ham band and there is a 200 Watt PEP power limit.

For some reason, 30 Meters is vaguely reminiscent of the old Novice bands of the 1970’s and 80’s, though not nearly as active. I guess the power limit, it being CW only, (not including the data signals), plus the fact that the signals I hear aren’t trying to break the sound barrier with speed, it just has an old comforting feel.

Most CW activity is found from 10.000 to 10.070 MHz and digital modes occupy the rest of the band.

Propagation on 30 Meters is similar to that of the 40 Meter Band, roughly 300 miles during the day and coast to coast and beyond at night.

Sadly, though 30 Meters is a very good band, it is a neglected little band. You hear some digital and a few CW stations at most. It’s a band worthy of more attention and respect.

The ARRL Band plan is as follows:

10.000 – 10.070 MHz – CW
10.074 MHz FT8
10.130 – 10.140 MHz – RTTY
10.140 – 10.150 MHz – Packet

The Fixed / Mobile Band stretches from 10.150 to 11.175 MHz.

The 11 MHz Aeronautical Band lies from 11.175 to 11.400 MHz, and is heavily used by the worlds militaries.

The US Air Force High Frequency Global Communications System – HF-GCS primary frequency is 11.175 MHz USB, or “triple-one-seven-five upper” as is sometimes heard.

The HF-GCS is a worldwide network of 15 high power HF stations that provide command and control communications between ground agencies and US and Allied military aircraft and ships.

Traffic may be heard 24/7, running phone patches and sending coded alpha-numeric EAM or Emergency Action Messages. These are rarely encrypted, always in USB and are perfectly legal to listen to.

An EAM is a high priority message that is transmitted around the world by the US Air Force. These messages are used for many of their strategic military operations, which include nuclear assets, which hopefully will never need to be used.

The messages you hear may mean something innocent, something ominous or it may be a test message meaning nothing at all.

These messages are broadcasted on the common HF-GCS frequencies which are 4.724 MHz, 6.739 MHz, 8.992 MHz, 11.175 MHz, 13.200 MHz, and 15.016 MHz and in AM on 311.000 MHz and 323.800 MHz.

Sometimes you will notice an echo of the voices in the background. These echoes are a result of propagation delays because of slow landlines and the time delay with satellites as the signal is sent to multiple widely spread transmission sites.

You are very likely to catch an EAM if you stay tuned to one of these frequencies, which are very well known incidentally, and so no, I’m not giving away “state secrets”.

On the 11 MHz band you will hear calls to aircraft over the Northeastern US from New York’s Air Traffic Control on 11.309 MHz.

New York’s LDOC or Long Distance Operations Control phone patches to aircraft is at 11.342 MHz.

Calls to aircraft over the North Atlantic and the Caribbean from New York’s Air Traffic Control is on 11.396 MHz.
The Fixed / Mobile Band stretches from 11.400 to 11.650 MHz.

The 25 Meter Shortwave Band lies from 11.600 – 12.100 MHz, partially extending into the Fixed / Mobile Bands above and below. 25 Meters is generally best during summer and year-round during the period before and after sunset.

The Fixed / Mobile Band stretches from 11.975 – 12.330 MHz.

The Marine Band lies from 12.330 to 13.200 MHz.

The 13 MHz Aeronautical Band lies from 13.200 to 13.360 MHz.

Aeronautical weather from Shannon Ireland VOLMET is on 13.264 MHz. and from Gander Newfoundland VOLMET is on 13.270 MHz. Gander will cease transmitting on June 12, 2025, when it will permanently shut down.

Air Traffic Control calls to aircraft over the Gulf and South America may be heard on 13.297 MHz, and over the Eastern Atlantic on 13.306 MHz.

LDOC or Long Distance Operations Control phone patches to aircraft is at 13.348 MHz

The Fixed / Mobile lies from 13.360 to 13.600 MHz.

The 22 Meter Shortwave Band stretches 13.570 to 13. 870 MHz, again overlapping into the Fixed / Mobile Bands. 22 Meters is heavily used in Eurasia and is similar to the 19 Meter band. It is best in summer.

The Fixed / Mobile Band 13.800 – 14.000 MHz

Next we will come to most popular and heavily used Amateur Band – the 20 Meter Amateur Band.

It is said that 20 meters is always open to somewhere, the “where” varying with the time of day and solar activity. Sometimes the “where” can change day by day. For example, one weekend the 7th Area QSO Party and the New England QSO Party were being held. On Saturday signals from the 7th call area were coming in, but no New England stations were to be heard. The next day no 7th area stations were heard, but New England was pouring in. Same band, same time of day, but a total change in direction in just 24 hours.

Since the 1960’s, access to the 20 meter band has been one of the carrots reserved for General class and above licenses, to provide an incentive for people to upgrade from Novice or Technician classes.

When I was newcomer in the late 70’s and early 80’s we would timidly enter or daresay just plain avoid 20 meters, as it had the reputation of being crowded with high powered stations that would mercilessly clobber low power or regular power stations. Which is why they nicknamed it “Kilowatt Alley”.

And daresay, some of the operators reminded us of some of the grouches we avoided on 2 Meters, having found that sometimes we new hams were welcomed with the middle finger of fellowship since we hadn’t taken the same test “they took” in 1967, 1957, 1947, 1937, 1887, etc..

As with today’s new hams, we had no choice but to take the test that the FCC required. If we had told the examiner “I don’t want to take this wimpy excuse of a test, gimme a test from 1966, like Elroy and Roscoe talk about on the Froggy Bottom repeater – NOW!”, we probably would have been escorted out and quite possibly committed to the loony bin, as perhaps Elroy and Roscoe should have been.
But those grouches are long gone and while there are some operators that do “pour on the gas” power wise, I find that I have good success running just 100 watts and a G5RV antenna. I receive well, and get decent to good signal reports. More times than not, if I hear them, I can work them.

It should be noted that the Canadian Phone Band is wider than the US phone band, starting at 14.112 MHz, instead of 14.150 MHz. With the US FCC allocation, 14.112 to 14.150 MHz is part of the non-voice CW / Data band. Sometimes US operators will hear voice activity in this range and get upset about “out of band” activity, or they call the stations, not knowing they are transmitting out of band.

Also, while I’m at it, I frequently see stations transmit exactly on a band edge, such as 14.350 MHz. They are apparently unaware that their signal is not limited to what the frequency readout says, (which may or may not be accurate, as they are not true “frequency counters” as one might use servicing equipment) and half their signal is drooping or slopping out of the band. That’s why a wise operator stays 3 – 5 kHz from the band edges.

This is a lesson I learned in 1978 by receiving an ARRL Official Observer citation for transmitting 1 kHz below the 80 Meter Novice Band on 3.699 kHz, because my sorry dial was off.

Here is the 20 Meter Amateur Band plan:

14.000 MHz Begin Extra CW/ Data Sub band
14.025 MHz Begin General & Advanced CW / Data Sub band
14.040 – 14.095 MHz RTTY
14.074 MHz FT8
14.100 MHz NCDXF Beacons
14.1005 – 14.112 MHz Packet
14.150 MHz Begin Extra Class Phone Band
14.175 MHz Begin Advance Class Phone Band
14.225 MHz Begin General Class Phone Band
14.230 MHz SSTV
14.286 MHz AM calling frequency
14.300 MHz Maritime Mobile Service Network Daily 11:00 AM
14.325 MHz Hurricane Watch Net – activated as needed
Salvation Army Emergency Radio Network – Mon, Wed & Fri 11 AM Central
14.345 MHz Central Area Net (restricted) Daily 2:30 PM
14.350 MHz End 20 Meter Band

The NCDXF beacons at 14.100 MHz are part a worldwide network of high-frequency radio beacons on 14.100, 18.110, 21.150, 24.930, and 28.200 MHz. These beacons, part of a joint project with the Northern California DX Foundation & International Amateur Radio Union help both amateur and commercial high-frequency radio users assess the current condition of the ionosphere. The entire system is designed, built and operated by volunteers at no cost except for the actual price of hardware components, shipping costs, and so on.

The transmission consists of the callsign of the beacon sent at 22 WPM followed by four one-second dashes. The callsign and the first dash are sent at 100 watts. The remaining dashes are sent at 10 watts, 1 watt and 100 milliwatts.

Each beacon transmits once on each band every three minutes, 24 hours a day. At the end of each 10 second transmission, the beacon steps to the next higher band and the next beacon in the sequence begins transmitting

The location of the beacons and schedules may be found at: International Beacon Project Transmission Schedule

The 14.345 MHz Central Area Net is a restricted net. This net is a Transcontinental Corps traffic net and is used for traffic handling only and is not open for general check-ins and requires prior permission from the Net Manager to join so that operations are not hindered by unnecessary activity.

Continuing on, the Fixed / Mobile Band stretches from 14.350 to 14.490 MHz.

CHU , Ottawa, Ontario, transmits it’s Time & Frequency Standard signal in English and French at 14.670 MHz. Which, like WWV & WWVH, will send you a QSL card for reception reports.

And finally at 15.000 MHz, you will find WWV in Fort Collins Colorado & WWVH – Kekaha, HI broadcasting Time & Frequency Standard signals.

Remember, if you are receiving WWV or WWVH, then 20 Meters is open also – whether anyone is transmitting or not.

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Mark’s Almanac

Originally the fourth Roman Month, June at one time had 29 days, until Julius Caesar in a glow of inspiration added the 30th day.

What June was named for is uncertain. Some say it was named for Juno, wife & sister of Jupiter. Juno was the goddess of marriage and a married couple’s household, so some consider it good luck to be married in this month, which is why June has become a month for so many marriages.

The beginning of meteorological Summer is June 1.

Storm activity retains many of the characteristics of spring, but more and more the pattern takes on the summer pattern of pop-up thunderstorms.

Hurricane season begins June 1, however June hurricanes are usually small and of minor intensity, occurring roughly once every two years.

The centers for June Tropical Cyclone activity are the extreme Western Caribbean, with the storm tracks striking the Yucatan or veering toward Western Florida & the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico, with other storm tracks aiming toward the Mexican mainland.

From 1851 to 2024 there have been 104 Tropical Storms and 34 Hurricanes, of which 20 impacted the United States. The most notable June hurricane was Audrey, one of the deadliest tropical cyclones in US history, which killed 416 as it devastated the southwestern Louisiana coast in 1957.

The center of maximum tornadic activity shifts northward over Kansas and Iowa. Activity in Texas and Oklahoma dies down. There is a 5% decrease in tornadic activity over the May average & by June 4th 50% of the year’s tornadoes have occurred.

Days continue to grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon increases from 78.5 degrees at the beginning of the month to maximum of 79.9 on Summer Solstice on June 21 and then lowering to 79.6 degrees at the month’s end. Daylight increases from 14 hours 14 minutes on June 1 to the maximum daylight of 14 hours 23 minutes at Summer Solstice on June 21 and then decreases to 14 hours 21 minutes on June 30.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

June 1 Sunrise 5:38 AM Sunset 7:52 PM
June 15 Sunrise 5:37 AM Sunset 7:59 PM
June 30 Sunrise 5:40 AM Sunset 8:01 PM

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.7 is in Taurus, The Bull.

Mercury, magnitude -0.6 in Aires, The Ram, is lost in the glow of the Sun at the first of the month.

He emerges into the evening sky on June 13 becoming visible at around 8:17 PM CDT, 8° above the north-western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hour and 11 minutes after the Sun at 9:08 PM CDT,

He will reach his highest point in the sky on June 28, reaching a peak altitude of 18° above the horizon at sunset, shining brightly at mag -0.4.

By months end he will become visible at around 8:32 PM CDT, 11° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hour and 34 minutes after the Sun at 9:34 PM CDT.

Venus, magnitude -4.6 in Piscis, The Fish, is a morning object.

At the first of the month, she rises at 3:17 AM CDT, 2 hours and 18 minutes before the Sun and reaches an altitude of 24° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:18 AM CDT.

Venus will reach her furthest point from the Sun, or Aphelion, on June 11.

At midmonth she rises at 3:04 AM CDT, 2 hours and 30 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of 26° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:16 AM CDT.

By months end she rises at 2:55 AM CDT, 2 hours and 42 minutes before the Sun and reaches an altitude of 28° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:20 AM CDT.

Earth, and her Moon, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the constellation Ophiuchus, The Serpent Bearer.

Mars, with his moons Phobos and Deimos, magnitude +1.1, in Cancer, The Crab, is an early evening object receding into evening twilight.

At the first of the month, he becomes visible around 8:35 PM CDT, 46° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He then sinks towards the horizon, setting at 12:25 AM CDT.

The Moon will pass 1.4° south of Mars on June 1.

At midmonth he becomes visible around 8:43 PM CDT, 38° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 54 minutes after the Sun at 11:52 PM CDT.

By months end he becomes visible around 8:47 PM CDT, 30° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 3 hours and 15 minutes after the Sun at 11:15 PM CDT.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude +9.3 is in Cetus, The Whale.

Jupiter, and his 95 moons and (invisible from Earth) ring magnitude –2.0, in Taurus, The Bull, at the first of the month is low in the western sky.

At the first of the month, he becomes visible at around 8:09 PM CDT, 9° above the western horizon, as dusk fades to darkness. He will then sink towards the horizon, setting 1 hour and 13 minutes after the Sun at 9:04 PM CDT.

He will disappear into the glow of the Sun on June 4 and be hidden in the glow of the Sun for the rest of the month.

Jupiter will pass behind the Sun on June 24.

Saturn, and his 274 moons and extensive debris ring system, magnitude +1.1, in Pisces, The Fish, is emerging from behind the Sun.

At the first of the month, he rises at 2:12 AM CDT, 3 hours and 23 minutes before the Sun, and reaches an altitude of 32° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 4:56 AM CDT.

By midmonth he rises at 1:19 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 41° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 4:55 AM CDT.

At months end he rises at 12:22 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 50° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 5:00 AM CDT.

Uranus, and his 28 moons and ring, magnitude +5.9 in Taurus, The Bull, is hidden in the glow of the Sun.

Neptune, and his 16 moons and ring, magnitude 7.8 in Pisces, The Fish, is emerging into the predawn sky.

At the first of the month, he rises at 2:12 AM CDT, 3 hours and 23 minutes before the Sun, reaching an altitude of 26° above the eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 4:26 AM CDT.

By midmonth he rises at 1:18 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 36° above the south-eastern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 4:23 AM CDT.

At months end he rises at 12:09 AM CDT, and reaches an altitude of 46° above the southern horizon before fading from view as dawn breaks at around 4:27 AM CDT.

And Planet Nine?

If you browse through social media sites or crawl through the Internet, you may have seen the headlines “scientists may have found Planet Nine”.

Since so many people get their information and opinions from that trusted source “Trust Me Bro, It’s True”, the question becomes is there any truth to this news or is it just more Internet Fluff?

The answer is “maybe”.

According to a research paper, which has been accepted for publication in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia but not yet peer-reviewed, astronomers may have found new evidence that points to a celestial body that could be a possible candidate as “Planet Nine”.

A team led by astronomer Terry Long Phan of the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan has delved into the archives of two far-infrared all-sky surveys in search of Planet Nine.

The Infrared Astronomy Satellite, IRAS, was launched in 1983 and surveyed the sky for almost a year before being decommissioned. Then, in 2006, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched AKARI, another infrared astronomy satellite that was active between 2006 and 2011.

Phan’s team were looking for objects that appeared in IRAS’s database, that appeared to have moved by the time AKARI observed the same areas 23 years later.

This careful search led Phan’s team to a single object, a tiny dot in the infrared data.

If the object really is Planet Nine, it would be larger than Neptune and is 700 times further from the sun than Earth.

It appears in one position in IRAS’s 1983 image, but not in that position when AKARI looked. However, there is an object seen by AKARI that isn’t there in the IRAS imagery, and it is within the range that Planet Nine could have traveled in the intervening time, which would indicate movement.

If the object is a planet, it is in a wildly excentric elongated orbit. Could it be that it formed in the region where Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune formed and was scattered outward by the gravity of those planets during the early days of the solar system? Or is it a rogue planet that was captured by the Sun’s gravity during the early days of the solar system?

Not all are convinced that this is Planet Nine. Mike Brown an astronomer at Caltech calculated the orbit of the infrared signal and found that the object would be tilted about 120° from the Solar System’s plane. That tilt is much greater than Planet Nine’s predicted tilt of around 15 to 20 degrees, and means this object would be orbiting in a different direction from the known planets, which all sit roughly on the same plane.

This mismatch “doesn’t mean it’s not there, but it means it’s not Planet Nine,” says Brown.

Hopefully observations by NASA’s soon to launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope which will perform high-resolution deep surveys of the sky, and the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, set to open later this year, will help clarify the true nature of this object.

Regardless, I still maintain that poor old Pluto is still Planet #9. But they just won’t listen to me.

Speaking of which, 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 17.2 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 Sagittarius, The Archer.

50000 Quaoar, and his moon Waywot shines at magnitude +18.6 in Cetus, The Whale.

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.

A new “Dwarf Planet Candidate” has been discovered.

The discovery of the object was officially announced on May 21, 2025, by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.

The object, discovered by Sihao Cheng, Jiaxuan Li and Eritas Yang, is designated 2017 OF201. 2017 OF201 is located in the constellation of Triangulum, is 8,504,349,226 miles from Earth as of May 25, 2025. The magnitude of 2017 OF201 is 23.19.

The object has an extremely elongated orbit with the farthest point of the is more than 1600 times that of the Earth’s orbit, while the closest point on its orbit to the Sun is 44.5 times that of the Earth’s orbit, similar to Pluto’s orbit.

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 12,344,156,286 miles or in Light Time, 18 hours, 24 minutes and 26 seconds from Earth.

The most distant man-made object, Voyager 1, still operating after 47 years, 7 month and 11 days is 15,459,751,038 miles, or in Light Time, 23 hours, 03 minutes 10 Seconds from Earth as of 12:54 PM, May 14, 2025, sailing 38,027 miles per hour through Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.

There are 1,449,382 known asteroids and 4,005 comets as of May 14, 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 +21.3, in Taurus, The Bull, is 175,506,735 miles or 1430 days from the Earth as of 1:00, May 14, 2025.

Asteroid 2024 YR4, which will pass though the Earth – Moon system on Wednesday, December 22, 2032, dimly glows at magnitude +28.4, in Leo, The Lion. It currently is 187,457,142 Miles or 2783 days from the Earth as of 1:12 PM May 14, 2025.

5,893 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of May 7, 2025, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur June 2 at 10:41 PM or 4:141 UTC June 3.

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

The Moon will be at Apogee, or her farthest point from the Earth on June 14 at 251,999 Miles.

June’s Full Moon is “Strawberry Moon” in Native American folklore. This will occur on June 11 at 2:46 AM CDT or 07:46 UTC. The Moon will be located on the opposite side of the Earth as the Sun and its face will be fully illuminated. It is called “Strawberry Moon” for it signals the time to start harvesting strawberries, as it is peak strawberry ripening time. Other names are “Rose Moon” and “Honey Moon”.

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

Summer Solstice will occur at 9:42 PM CDT or 02:42 UTC on June 21. The North Pole of the earth will be tilted toward the Sun, which will have reached its northernmost position in the sky and will be directly over the Tropic of Cancer at 23.44 degrees north latitude. This is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Moon will be at Perigee, or her closest point from the Earth on June 22 at 225,668 Miles.

New Moon will occur at 5:33 AM CDT or 10:33 UTC on June 25. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The June Bootids Meteor Shower will occur from June 26th until July 2nd. It peaks on June 27th. Normally the shower is very weak, with a Zenith Hourly Rate or ZHR of 1 or 2, but occasional outbursts produce a hundred or more meteors per hour. The source of the June Bootids is Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke, which orbits the Sun once every 6.37 years.

The New Moon will not interfere with this unpredictable shower. Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight.

Around 10 PM in mid-June, Libra the Scales will be passing due South. When Alpha Librae, the lower-right of the two brightest stars of Libra, is due south, if you look directly below it you will see nothing but horizon. But, if you were at a lower latitude, say 29°, the latitude of Orlando, or points south would see our brilliant, -0.27 magnitude neighbor Alpha Centauri above the horizon.

At 4.37 light years distance, the Alpha Centauri system is nearest star system to our own.

It is a triple star consisting of Alpha Centauri A, also called Rigil Kentaurus, Alpha Centauri B or Toliman and the closest star to the Sun, Alpha Centauri C also called Proxima Centauri, 4.24 light years from Earth.

Alpha Centauri A is a near twin of our Sun in almost every way, including age, while Alpha Centauri B is somewhat smaller and dimmer but still quite like the Sun. The third member, Proxima Centauri is a much smaller red dwarf star that travels around the A-B pair.

Proxima Centauri has three known planets: Proxima b, an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone or so called “Goldilocks Zone” – not too hot and not too cold to support some form of life if it has a suitable atmosphere. Proxima c, a super-Earth, which is possibly surrounded by a huge ring system and Proxima d, which orbits very closely to the star.

Alpha Centauri A may have a Neptune-sized habitable-zone planet, though it is not yet known to be planetary in nature and could be an artifact of the discovery mechanism. Alpha Centauri B has no known planets.

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This month’s meeting will be on June 10, at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Calera.

I hope to see you there!

Mark / WD4NYL

Editor
ALERT Newsletter