Archive - June 2012

A large asteroid that scientists initially thought could pose a threat to Earth in the year 2040 will actually whizz safely by our planet and leave our world unscathed.

The new prediction is based on new research of the asteroid 2011 AG5, which was discovered in January 2011. The space rock measures approximately 460 feet (140 meters) wide, and was spotted during the Catalina Sky Survey, which is operated by the University of Arizona in Tucson. Several observatories monitored 2011 AG5 for nine months before it was too far and faint to be detected.

What was known about 2011 AG5’s orbital path, however, showed there was a small possibility that the space rock could collide with Earth in 28 years. But, at a recent workshop at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., scientists presented new findings, and said they are confident that in the next four years, ground- and space-based observations will indicate that the chance of 2011 AG5 missing Earth will be greater than 99 percent.

When the asteroid is approximately 1.1 million miles (1.8 million km) away from Earth in 2023, astronomers will have an even clearer picture of the degree of hazard posed by 2011 AG5.

Despite no new GFF representative being appointed as yet, Green Day 2012 Awards are still available from MØOXO.

Several stations have so far claimed their Awards for the green Day event that was held earlier this month. All details can be found on this link.

Green Day 2012 award

GFF Awards will continue to be available whilstever there is the need for them and/or supplies run out. Email me with any questions here.

Contact MØOXO

For all those waiting for the cards from Michael (G7VJR) for his recent operation as GQ7VJR, I can report that cards arrived yesterday morning and were processed in the evening.

All cards, both Direct and OQRS will be mailed today (Direct) and next week (Bureau). Qsl is of course via M0OXO

Not long to go now to the yearly jaunt of the StrumbleHead Team to Ramsey Island, of the South West Coast of Wales.

MC0SHL will be QRV from 12th thro 16th July 2012 on all HF Bands using SSB and Digimodes. Listen for us as well on 6m, the band was in good shape last year so remember to keep a look out for MC0SHL.

Ramsey is named after Saint David (Dewi Sant) and is the Patron Saint of Wales. It was also the home of his Confessor Saint Justinian. The Island is less than 2 miles long and its highest point is 136M (446ft) above sea level. It is renowned mainly for its Seabird Colonies as well as its steep Cliffs and other wonderful scenery. It also has the most important Grey Seal Colony in Southern britain today. Photo above is taken from Ramsey island and looking across the water to mainland Wales.

Don’t forget to check out the monthly update of our group on the website of the StrumbleHead Amateur Radio Klub 😉

The site has recently undergone a software upgrade and new things are posted there regularly by Chris G1VDP or other members of the group.

This months highlights include a resume of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the second operation from HMS Belfast (GB2RN) by one of our members!

…click here!

From RSGB IOTA;

Following the decision by the ARRL to delete Malyy Vysotskiy Island (MVI) from the current DXCC list as of 17 February 2012 the IOTA Committee has considered action to be taken with regard to the future of EU-117.

The presence of MVI in the IOTA list as a separate group was originally justified by its separate DXCC Entity status under Rule E.5.5, so the island’s deletion now calls for action from IOTA. The programme does not maintain a Deleted Groups List to record contacts by participants with deleted IOTA groups in a form similar to the DXCC Deleted Entities List. Faced with the prospect of a straight deletion of EU-117 and incorporation of the island into the EU-133 list, the Committee formulated an alternative course of action involving the transfer of a section of the EU-133 ‘box’ to EU-117, so avoiding deletion.

It put the alternatives to an enlarged IOTA management group involving for the first time the 22 checkpoints. The consultation produced a clear majority in favour of splitting EU-133 to form two groups within the Gulf of Finland, North and South. The dividing line has been set at 60 degrees, 15 minutes north. The islands now constituting the two groups can be seen via the Search facility on this page. This change, which has an effective date backdated to 17 February 2012, means that past credits for MVI will continue to stand and new opportunities are created for contacting EU-117.

Record-holders need take no action regarding existing credits as they will not be deleted as a consequence of this change, nor in the case of EU-133 credits need they be transferred unless requested. The Committee believes this to be an imaginative solution in the best interests of the programme.

The RAF’s largest ever aircraft, Voyager, has been flown by the RAF over HorseGuards Parade in London at the Queens Trooping The Colour Ceremony today.

Nearly 60 metres long from nose to tail and boasting a 60m wingspan, the new tanker will replace the VC-10 and tri-Star aircraft. Voyager is twice the size of a Lancaster bomber and can carry 291 troops for more than 6,000 miles.

14 of the models snapped up by the RAF and their deadline of the first to be in service by the end of 2011 was met.

The Voyager, a converted Airbus A330-200 airliner, can refuel another aircraft with 100,000 litres of fuel – more than that contained by two large petrol tankers. While a pump at a garage can deliver fuel at 40 litres per minute, the Voyager can refuel at a rate of 5,000 litres per minute, according to the defence ministry.

A few recent arrivals in the way of Qsl requests have made me wonder, ‘do we really know how to make a Qsl card request?’. You may be a newcomer to the hobby who finds the whole process of requesting Qsl Cards very daunting indeed.

Well, in an attempt to help both older and newer people in the hobby, I have compiled a page on my website which I hope will attempt to answer most of the common questions.

Please take a look and if you feel it is of benefit then feel free to comment. So many times people fall foul of this proceedure so I hope this helps, at least a little!

Click here to read the article.

In 1716 English astronomer Edmond Halley noted, “This is but a little Patch, but it shews itself to the naked Eye, when the Sky is serene and the Moon absent.” Of course, now it is modestly recognized as the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules, one of the brightest globular star clusters in the northern sky.

Telescopic views reveal the spectacular cluster’s hundreds of thousands of stars. At a distance of 25,000 light-years, the cluster stars crowd into a region 150 light-years in diameter, but approaching the cluster core upwards of 100 stars could be contained in a cube just 3 light-years on a side.

For comparison, the closest star to the Sun is over 4 light-years away. Along with the cluster’s dense core, the outer reaches of this one are highlighted in this sharp color image. The cluster’s evolved red and blue giant stars show up in yellowish and blue tints.

JY9ET Qsl Cards arrived yesterday and the first batch hits the mail today.

I apologise for the longer than usual delay but it took a little longer to prepare the cards due to work commitments by Paolo in Jordan. If you need a Qsl card for JY9ET (or anyone else) click here.

Also, select this link if you are new to the hobby and need general Qsl advice.