WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SPACE?

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SPACE?


 Hi Folks,

 I've been really busy working on various music projects over the past three weeks, and will continue to do so for at least another two weeks. So much for being a "retired gentleman"! But it's all been good fun! Therefore, all radio activities have been pushed into the background for the moment, including the MEDXR blog.

 In the meantime, I've been noting the high solar storm activities over the past week. Here in southern Australia, some of my photographic friends have been very busy taking shots of amazing auroral displays (known as Aurora Australis). Quite spectacular. Of course this has also been happening in the northern hemisphere, too. The results are that radio propagation has been very haphazard, especially on the higher frequencies.

 The latest video from Dr Tamatha Skov explains why:


So what else is happening in space? Well, the International Space Station (ISS) continues to orbit the earth, and doing some fine scientific work in the process. I saw a very recent YouTube video by an American astronaut who is also an amateur radio operator. It was most interesting, but unfortunately I've lost the link to that video. So here is an old video (2010) which does the same sort of thing!


But, if you want a good view of the overall layout of the ISS, a new video just released two days ago gives a complete walkthrough of the layout of the station. This is a "mock-up" of the real thing but located down here on Earth. Really interesting!


Finally, if you'd like to view the ISS as it whizzes by, or would like to photograph it, there is a fabulous little smart phone app called ISS Spotter. It gives realtime locations of the station on the world map plus forecasts of when to view the ISS in coming days. Highly recommended! Find it in the Apple AppStore at https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/iss-spotter/id523486350?mt=8
I don't know if there's a version for Android.


73 and have a great weekend everyone!

 Rob Wagner VK3BVW

 Subscribe!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. If your comment isn’t visible right away, it has been received and will be published shortly.

Popular posts from this blog

RETRO RECEIVER REVIEW # 21 - The Kenwood R-5000

Image
RETRO RECEIVER REVIEW #21 (You can click on all photos in this article for a close-up view) KENWOOD R-5000 Performance and Innovation by ROB WAGNER VK3BVW This extended blog post first appeared as a feature article in the February 2024 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com I have always wanted to own a Kenwood R-5000 receiver. Perhaps I was dazzled by the mystique that appeared to surround this rig. Somehow, it had always been on top of my bucket list of pre-loved rigs that I wanted sitting on the desk of the radio shack.  Finally, one showed up at a local Sunday morning Hamfest, and I happened to have just enough dollars in my pocket to make a purchase. It appeared to have lived a hard life. The case looked knocked around and was pretty dirty inside and out. So, while I would have liked to have owned a unit in better condition, the price was right, and I decided to take it on as a l...
Read more

REVIEW: WELLBROOK ALA1530S+ LOOP ANTENNA

Image
PRODUCT REVIEW: WELLBROOK ALA1530S+ LOOP ANTENNA by Michael Stevenson (Guest Contributor) This is a review and my opinion of the Wellbrook ALA1530S+ P–1 Active receiving Antenna. For further information, details and specifications then please visit: www.wellbrook.uk.com Background I have been a keen shortwave listener since 1970 and have had many receivers and antenna types during this time. Currently I have two wire antennas, a PAR Electronics EF-SWL 15 meter with impedance matching transformer, made in the US; and a home made 17 meter wire with balun. I also have a dedicated multi-stake ground or earthing system to compliment my receiver and antennas. I live in suburbia Port Macquarie, New South Wales on the east coast of Australia. Even though all our electricity wiring is under ground in our housing estate, I live in an environment where there are all types of man-made noises coming from modern electronic and electrical equipment used by my neighbours The wire a...
Read more

RETRO RECEIVER REVIEW #20 - The SONY ICF-5900W

Image
RETRO RECEIVER REVIEW #20 SONY ICF-5900W by CRAIG SEAGER VK2HBT This time around, I thought we might direct our attention to one of the many portable receivers of yesteryear, and it is perhaps appropriate that we choose a manufacturer that continued to produce quality equipment featuring shortwave coverage until long after. I’m sure our Japanese friends will concur with the submission that Japan is a land of short-lived, but enthusiastically embraced fads.  Whether it be karaoke, yo-yos with brains, electronics pets or Pokémon, each craze sweeps the country in such a way that captures the attention of the rest of the world and is usually associated with some pretty smart home-grown technology.   In the mid to late 1970s, shortwave listening (or “BCL”) was the flavour of the month, with teenagers (and some older folk!) compiling large QSL collections and forming SWL and DX clubs all over the country.  Nowadays, you’d be fairly hard-pressed to find any external broadcas...
Read more