mettalfabrik

due over any moment my location got the scanner on tracking up the english channel

hi progress 38 the unmanned supply ship undocked fom ISS yesterday morning and will re-enter next monday after russian control conduct some engineering tests progress 39 another unmanned supply vessel wil be launched sept 8 i too saw it last night and if you have can get hold of a radio scanner and tune it 145.800 you will sometimes hear the radio amatuer licensed astronauts talking like i did last night or if you tune to 145.825 you hear packet radio tones, a sort of txt,ing for radio hams,there are a couple of freeware programs on the net you can use to decode these as long as you connect the scanners headphone socket to the line in socket on the computer ,i have done this and i am no geek! blackdown ilminster

as if TS agatha is,nt enough i hear via BBC WORLD SERVICE they (guatamala) have had a volcanic eruption also!

I,ll just post the link to this amazing (i think) photo as its not mine to reproduce http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=22747 cheers blackdown

BA as i write are engaged in a test flight out to sea west of ireland from london heathrow then back to cardiff maintenance facilty to check newly installed air filters and an indepth inspection of engines plane is a B747 ARRIVAL back to cardiff circa 2030

i dont want to start a climate change debate in this thread but this article is very interesting http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627564.800-quiet-sun-puts-europe-on-ice.html

hi there Joggs current predictions give solar cycle 24 max as sometime in 2013ish,albeit at a much reduced level than the last few solar max,s since the sixties it is known that the sun has been on the wane ,since this is when seroius measurment of the sun,s output began because of of man,s forays into space as solar radiation will play havoc with electronic\electical systems and is of course harmful to humans wether this period will give us even more reduced activity in coming solar cycles is the subject of some debate, as you will find if you trawl through this vast thread which began in 2006 then thought to be solar minimum as for this affecting the climate it is know that past cold periods do coincide with low sunspot activity although human capacity to chuck multiple spanners into the works may upset this,who knows we will have wait and see but for me personally those summers of temps touching 90c seem an awful long time ago now good link here for further info http://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/predict.shtml

nice CME from the 13 april solar activity is on the increase so far this year, 90 day mean 10.7cm flux is 82 which is the highest for some years :Issued: 2010 Apr 14 1225 UTC :Product: documentation at http://www.sidc.be/products/presto #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # FAST WARNING 'PRESTO' MESSAGE from the SIDC (RWC-Belgium) # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# A CME linked to the eruption of a polar crown filament was detected on April 13 by LASCO and other coronagraphs. It is partially halo, with a main propagation direction to the North of the ecliptic plane. There is a risk that the southern flank of the CME crosses the Earth, triggering enhanced geomagnetic activity, not before late April 16 or more likely on April 17.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A sharp gust of solar wind hit Earth's magnetosphere today, April 5th, at approximately 0800 UT and sparked the strongest geomagnetic storm of the year. The event registered 7 on the 0-to-9 Kindex scale of magnetic disturbances. Although the storm is subsiding now, it is not over; high-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. Latest images may be found in the gallery: http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01apr10_page3.htm if there are any clear skies tonight might be worth a look outside oop north anyway

more updates of geomagnetic activity Official Space Weather Advisory issued by NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center Boulder, Colorado, USA SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #10- 1 2010 April 05 at 12:13 p.m. MST (2010 April 05 1213 UTC) **** STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM IN PROGRESS **** A geomagnetic storm began at 05:55 AM EST Monday, April 5, 2010. Space weather storm levels reached Strong (G3) levels on the Geomagnetic Storms Space Weather Scale. The source of the storming is an Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection associated with a weak solar flare that occurred in Active Region 1059 on April 3 at 05:54 AM EST. This is expected to be an isolated storm that should subside quickly. Other than the flare and CME erupting on April 3, this active region has not produced any significant activity. Systems that can be affected include electric power systems, spacecraft operations, high-frequency communications, GPS, and other navigation systems. Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA, USAF, NASA, NSF, USGS, the International Space Environment Services and other observatories, universities, and institutions. More information is available at SWPC's Web site http://swpc.noaa.gov :Product: documentation at http://www.sidc.be/products/presto #--------------------------------------------------------------------# # FAST WARNING 'PRESTO' MESSAGE from the SIDC (RWC-Belgium) # #--------------------------------------------------------------------# Major geomagnetic storm in progress. <br /> Geomagnetic conditions are currently reaching major storm levels at several stations, like Boulder, Wingst and Niemegk. An interplanetary shock was observed on ACE at 08:00 UT, probably linked to a halo CME observed on April 3rd. Isolated minor storm conditions are expected to persist for the next few hours. Active conditions are still expected on April 6th due to a coronal hole. and the spaceshuttle launched this morning to the ISS lets hope it does not give them any trouble

update now K=7 Space Weather Message Code: ALTK07 Serial Number: 81 Issue Time: 2010 Apr 05 0956 UTC ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 7 Threshold Reached: 2010 Apr 05 0955 UTC Synoptic Period: 0900-1200 UTC Station: Boulder Active Warning: No NOAA Scale: G3 - Strong way down into the states this morning GEOALERT LATEST from SIDC GEOALERT BRU095 UGEOA 30512 00405 1144/ 9930/ 10052 23052 30052 99999 PLAIN NOTE: the above forecasts are valid from 1230UT, 05 Apr 2010 until 07 Apr 2010 PREDICTIONS FOR 05 Apr 2010 10CM FLUX: 078 / AP: 038 PREDICTIONS FOR 06 Apr 2010 10CM FLUX: 078 / AP: 028 PREDICTIONS FOR 07 Apr 2010 10CM FLUX: 079 / AP: 013 COMMENT: Solar activity is expected to be low for the next 48 hours. Geomagnetic activity is currently reaching major storm condition levels. An interplanetary shock was detected around 08:00 UT on ACE. It is probably linked to a halo CME, which occurred on April 3rd. Active conditions are observed currently at planetary levels, and major storm conditions are observed in Boulder, Wingst and Niemegk observatories. Geomagnetic conditions are expected to settle down a little, but active conditions are expected to persist on April 6 due to a coronal hole.

this is the first time i think ,that i have received a k index of 6 warning from swpc ,they have been sending out K5/4 WARNINGS for some time now another sign of increasing activity Space Weather Message Code: ALTK06 Serial Number: 261 Issue Time: 2010 Apr 05 0922 UTC ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 6 Threshold Reached: 2010 Apr 05 0920 UTC Synoptic Period: 0900-1200 UTC Station: Boulder Active Warning: No NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/NOAAscales

don,t suppose there is much clear sky about up the top end which is a pity because the current aurora oval map looks to be down to 60.north again tonight cheers blackdown

thanks for those pics have,nt been there for years not since 1974 when me and some buddies slept on the beach after seeing black sabbath at the old winter gardens venue what a gig that was!

looking at the current aurora oval on spaceweather i see it just below 60.0N I hope you guys up the top end have some clear skies tonight might be worth having a look out side

two more sunspots emerging as yet not numbered http://spaceweather.com/ things really starting to ramp up now one must assume

Hi ALL last week took a trip down to slapton sands/torcross in deepest south devon somewhat off the beaten track but absolutly well worth a visit somewhat chesil beach like in that there is a backwater /lake t,other side of the sands and a haven for waterfowl the scene of a military disaster in 1944 as a pre-D-Day exercise was attacked by german e-boats google exercise tiger for more info there is a memorial to the men wh lost their lives in the form of a sherman tank rescued from the sea and put on display can highly recommend the start bay inn torcross for fantastic food and drink lots of beach fishing going on too cheers blackdown camera=fuji finepix s5800

Dartmoor! keep em home you got it coming big time!

met office update@1920 gives more rain and sleet than snow

its mental here best i,ve ever seen in 45 years

cannot see across the street for snow now flakes the size of 50p really chucking it down better than last feb

still snowing here ,in fact harder than ever if it carries on like this could even have blizzard like conditions,yep the other side of town has just dissappeared

who,s moaning not me for sure thats london biased media for ya! couple of charts for an interst one from 06\02\09 and from todays almost identical

everthings freezing up here now very tricky on the roads paths, was over chard this dinnertime 1300 ,biggest snow flakes i,ve ever seen like paper doilies falling from the sky

can any one confirm this METAR for manchester airport ================================================== ICAO : EGCC Station Name : Manchester Intl Time : 20 / 13:50Z Temperature : 0.0°C / 32.0°F Dew Point : 0.0°C / 32.0°F RH : 100% Wind : WSW (240 degrees) at 16 mi/h Pressure : 993.9 mb Sky Condition : Few clouds at 300ft, Broken clouds at 1100ft Weather : Snow with Thunderstorm ================================================== cheers enjoy while you can we,ve had zilch down here in the southwest blackdown