Rick Koshko

Former INBA VP, DXer, ham radio operator, astronomer, Esperantisto. Tweets are mine, retweets ≠ endorsements. Saluton samideanoj. ¡SkyCaramba!

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

Margaret Hamilton, whose coding skills sent astronauts to the moon, has died.

https://t.co/7PX7AEs86c

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

Pelican Nebula tonight. Dwarf 3 photo.

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

October's astronomy events include: Mercury and Venus exit the evening sky, Saturn's at opposition, Mars passes through the Beehive and then pursues Jupiter, and more.

https://t.co/DNbC9GIkvY

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

@ali_braboy I have long wanted to do that too, but all the volunteer opportunities I find out about are on weekdays.

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

What's in a name? History! This week's podcast covers Uranus going retrograde, Mercury moving toward Venus, and how linguistics informs us that the concept of a "milky way" of stars goes way back. Available on many platforms, including Everand.

https://t.co/cQ2CqQ4NiN

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

Here's the partial lunar eclipse visibility map again. This will be Thursday evening local time for most western hemisphere viewers.
Times in UT (date Aug. 28):
Penumbral phase at 01:23
Partial phase at 2:33
Maximum eclipse 4:12
Partial phase ends 5:52
Penumbral phase ends 7:02

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

@JulieBorowski A century and more ago, women weren't encouraged to talk about pregnancy much lest they become scared of the risk of complications which couldn't be dealt with then.

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

This week's podcast: The deep partial lunar eclipse. Mars makes its way through Gemini. Jupiter rises just before the sun. Venus approaches Spica. Available on many great podcasting platforms, including Spotify.

https://t.co/FQe261pmQG

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

@JohnStossel This seems to mean Amazon has grown up and learned not to react like a spoiled child to regulations it doesn't like, such as when Illinois started expecting sales tax money. How many jobs is Amazon not destroying just because it's not getting its way?

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

How long must newscasters describe a cease fire that obviously hasn't held (and is actually questionable as to whether it took effect) as being fragile, on shaky ground, etc.?

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

Shortwave is dead. Someday, if the radio noise emitting electronics all go away, people may rediscover the HF bands. They'll be amazed that people used to hear radio signals from all over the world without internet connections or satellite receivers.

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

I and other shortwave listeners are listening to CHU for the last time this morning. The Canadian time signal station goes off the air at about 1410 UTC.

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

Three planets, the moon, and a star in this photo from Tuesday night.
Upper left to lower right: Venus, Jupiter, moon, Mercury. Sort of in the upper right, you can spot Pollux. Pentax K10D, ISO 400, 4 sec, probably 50mm focal length, f-3.5 aperture. About 9:15pm CDT.

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

If we still counted the way the British prefer to, Elon Musk would be the world's first billionaire. Before that he would have been a thousand-millionaire or a milliardaire, if they even say such things. Is there a game called milliards?

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

Start looking for Mercury joining Jupiter and Venus in the evening sky.

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

Three planets are in the west at dusk. And there's a meteor shower you may be able to hear on the radio. This week's SkyCaramba podcast is available on many platforms, including Listen Notes.
https://t.co/a7QS2PDQVu

[CBS News @CBSNews]

Kathleen Thomas was issued a citation in February after a Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy pulled her over for allegedly using a phone with her right hand. But Thomas doesn't have a right hand. This week, the officer requested that the citation be dismissed.

Here's bodycam footage of the traffic stop.

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

Uranus is in conjunction with the sun. It has left the evening sky and you'll find it in the morning in a few weeks.

[Rick Koshko @RickKoshko]

@JohnStossel @NielsHoven Being against phonics because a conservative likes it is as stupid as being against Ebonics because a liberal likes it. Use what works. I learned to read because of phonics on The Electric Company before I started school. I used phonics to teach three children to read.

[SkyCaramba @SkyCaramba]

Mission accomplished and hungry for galaxy hunting. This week's SkyCaramba podcast, available on many platforms, including Podcast Addict.

https://t.co/bQNwC9wWsN