This is taken from a comment on Facebook. Hence why it doesn't make sense, is badly laid out, and probably links to Farmville somewhere on it.
"Is there a site to work out if you can see the aurora?"
Short answer: yes. Longer answer: whether you see anything or not is a bit random, so the best that the sensors can do is tell you if it's worth looking. Plus at these latitudes you'll need to have clear skies and minimal light pollution (unless it's a massive CME - I have seen the aurora from the centre of Edinburgh, but that's very, very rare!)
Anyway, sites. http://spaceweather.com/ is a good place to start for early alerts on CMEs (Coronal Mass Ejections - basically, a sunspot burp). Once a CME is on the way the next place to look is at ACE - the live data from that satellite parked at L1 is at http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ace/MAG_SWEPAM_24h.html and right now shows what happens as a CME sweeps past it. Not long after that it will hit the atmosphere, and will be picked up by SAMNET - live data at http://www.dcs.lancs.ac.uk/iono/aurorawatch/rt_activity/ - and right now it shows the CME hitting not long after ACE saw it, and a burst of auroral activity a few hours later near midnight (which is the best time). Finally, the one I tend to use most for "is there a chance now" is the RealTime Auroral Oval at http://portal.cssdp.ca:8080/ssdp/static_content/ssdp/rt_oval/index.html - that extrapolates from a bunch of Canadian sensors what size the ring of auroral activity is and how strong it is. If it's white and stretches down over the UK it's definitely worth having a look.
There's a lot of data linked off the main Lancaster Uni Aurorawatch page too.
(And as the Perseid meteor shower should be peaking next weekend, for my own benefit here's a link to the Jodrell Bank Meteor Detector - memo to self, if there's lots of blips go outside! Except - it's offline just now as the Spanish TV station frequency they were detecting reflecting off meteor trails has changed - they've gone digital. Damn you, digital switchover! Alternative site is http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/live.html - also, photography tips at http://britastro.org/blog/?p=410)
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Monday, 17 August 2009
Blogaday 17: Favourite iPhone apps
I admit it. My iPhone is almost permanently attached to my hand. I'm one of Them. You know the sort. The kind of person who walks along reading Twitter and walking into other people. The kind of person who watches the blue blob creeping along the map rather than looking out the bus window. Yes, one of those twits.
Join us. You will be like us. Imagine I'm Donald Sutherland in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". EEEEEEEEEE!
So in order to spread the word; here's a few of the dozens of apps that keep my eyes glued to that little black oblong. Not being paid for these recommendations! No links either, search for them in the App Store...
Twitterena - There are dozens of Twitter apps, some free, some paid, all with various features. This is my usual one, although you really have to turn off the default theme and put it to "twitterena plain".
Tweetdeck - The other Twitter app I use. It's very like the desktop version and can synchronise settings with it, so you can use your group lists and searches in both locations. However, if you don't use those features Twitterena is easier to use.
Toodledo - Apple, for some reason, don't have a to-do list application in the standard apps. While contacts, calendar and notes can all sync up with Outlook there's nothing for tasks. There's several web services and apps to fill the gap, and Toodledo does the job for me. An app on my PC syncs tasks with the Toodledo web service, and the iPhone Toodledo app syncs with the web service. Little bit fiddly but does the job.
TuneWiki - Weird little app that plays back music from your iTunes library or from various Shoutcast radio stations - so far so usual - but it also looks up the lyrics to whatever is playing and will highlight the current line as it goes past. So you can sing along with the actual lyrics, as opposed to the ones in your head... It also allows you to see who is playing what near to you. For example, someone in Broxburn is playing "Take it to the Limit" by The Eagles right now...
Starmap & GoSkyWatch Planetarium - Both are apps for the casual astronomer. Starmap is, to me, the better app but is more expensive (and there's an even more expensive "Starmap Pro" version which has more info for telescope users). For someone who just wants to be able to tell what is what up above them GoSkyWatch is pretty good, and is a lot cheaper (40% off for the International Year of Astronomy).
Skype - It's Skype, on the iPhone. Only works via a WiFi connection. Surprisingly handy in poor reception areas!
ISS Visibility & IridiumFlares - Both are just interfaces to http://heavens-above.com/ but are quick and easy ways to get data for your exact location without having to fiddle with the website.
Peggle and Bookworm - Note that I waited until these were on sale for 59p before buying them, because I'm cheap. Peggle is horribly addictive. Bookworm is also addictive to those who like Scrabble or Boggle. And yes, I do.
Ocarina - If it was just an ocarina you can play on the touchscreen it wouldn't be that good, but the genius is in the addition of a mode where you can see who else is playing around the world and listen to them as they play. The same author wrote "Leaf Trombone" which is even harder to play and also allows you to actively judge people as they play.
Anyway - small selection there. I worryingly have 8 screens of apps. I'm running out of room for apps now...
I have a problem. I need help!
Join us. You will be like us. Imagine I'm Donald Sutherland in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". EEEEEEEEEE!
So in order to spread the word; here's a few of the dozens of apps that keep my eyes glued to that little black oblong. Not being paid for these recommendations! No links either, search for them in the App Store...
Twitterena - There are dozens of Twitter apps, some free, some paid, all with various features. This is my usual one, although you really have to turn off the default theme and put it to "twitterena plain".
Tweetdeck - The other Twitter app I use. It's very like the desktop version and can synchronise settings with it, so you can use your group lists and searches in both locations. However, if you don't use those features Twitterena is easier to use.
Toodledo - Apple, for some reason, don't have a to-do list application in the standard apps. While contacts, calendar and notes can all sync up with Outlook there's nothing for tasks. There's several web services and apps to fill the gap, and Toodledo does the job for me. An app on my PC syncs tasks with the Toodledo web service, and the iPhone Toodledo app syncs with the web service. Little bit fiddly but does the job.
TuneWiki - Weird little app that plays back music from your iTunes library or from various Shoutcast radio stations - so far so usual - but it also looks up the lyrics to whatever is playing and will highlight the current line as it goes past. So you can sing along with the actual lyrics, as opposed to the ones in your head... It also allows you to see who is playing what near to you. For example, someone in Broxburn is playing "Take it to the Limit" by The Eagles right now...
Starmap & GoSkyWatch Planetarium - Both are apps for the casual astronomer. Starmap is, to me, the better app but is more expensive (and there's an even more expensive "Starmap Pro" version which has more info for telescope users). For someone who just wants to be able to tell what is what up above them GoSkyWatch is pretty good, and is a lot cheaper (40% off for the International Year of Astronomy).
Skype - It's Skype, on the iPhone. Only works via a WiFi connection. Surprisingly handy in poor reception areas!
ISS Visibility & IridiumFlares - Both are just interfaces to http://heavens-above.com/ but are quick and easy ways to get data for your exact location without having to fiddle with the website.
Peggle and Bookworm - Note that I waited until these were on sale for 59p before buying them, because I'm cheap. Peggle is horribly addictive. Bookworm is also addictive to those who like Scrabble or Boggle. And yes, I do.
Ocarina - If it was just an ocarina you can play on the touchscreen it wouldn't be that good, but the genius is in the addition of a mode where you can see who else is playing around the world and listen to them as they play. The same author wrote "Leaf Trombone" which is even harder to play and also allows you to actively judge people as they play.
Anyway - small selection there. I worryingly have 8 screens of apps. I'm running out of room for apps now...
I have a problem. I need help!
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Blogaday 16: The Humble Art of Procrastination
So, it's the day after I missed yet another daily blog and also it's the day my better half went off up north until Wednesday. So I've spent a chunk of it on my own, having huge amounts of fun... seriously, massive fun. Totally.
Of course, I joke. Actually missing her quite a bit.
I actually spent most of the day avoiding cutting the grass. It's actually remarkably easy to do; with a little bit of napping, a short period playing Rock Band 2 (got my first "Flawless", 100%, only on "medium" mind you because I'm a weenie who can't use the orange button), a bit of random channel hopping between Mythbusters, Top Gear and the athletics you can quite easily fill an afternoon and an early evening. So the grass can wait until tomorrow.
As you can probably tell the writer's block is still ongoing...
Of course, I joke. Actually missing her quite a bit.
I actually spent most of the day avoiding cutting the grass. It's actually remarkably easy to do; with a little bit of napping, a short period playing Rock Band 2 (got my first "Flawless", 100%, only on "medium" mind you because I'm a weenie who can't use the orange button), a bit of random channel hopping between Mythbusters, Top Gear and the athletics you can quite easily fill an afternoon and an early evening. So the grass can wait until tomorrow.
As you can probably tell the writer's block is still ongoing...
Blogaday 15: Another Late One...
Almost half way through and I'm getting worse... not even a sniff of doing a blog yesterday. Admittedly I did end up unexpectedly cooking a barbeque.
The main problem, though, is I think I've finally hit a bit of writer's block. Which is a bit of a pain, as techincally I have two blogs to do today to catch up...
As well as the barbeque yesterday there was also a little trip to North Berwick for a fish supper, a walk on the beach, and a "99" cone. All was very nice, except that the walk on the beach was spoiled by the most unimpressive rock pools ever. I found one little anemone, and that was it. When I were a lad rockpools had little fish, and crabs, and anemones, and all sorts. Global warming, pollution, or just not very good rockpools at North Berwick? You decide.
Anyway, this is all waffle and not worth of the name "blog" - but whatever, it will do...
The main problem, though, is I think I've finally hit a bit of writer's block. Which is a bit of a pain, as techincally I have two blogs to do today to catch up...
As well as the barbeque yesterday there was also a little trip to North Berwick for a fish supper, a walk on the beach, and a "99" cone. All was very nice, except that the walk on the beach was spoiled by the most unimpressive rock pools ever. I found one little anemone, and that was it. When I were a lad rockpools had little fish, and crabs, and anemones, and all sorts. Global warming, pollution, or just not very good rockpools at North Berwick? You decide.
Anyway, this is all waffle and not worth of the name "blog" - but whatever, it will do...
Friday, 14 August 2009
Blogaday 14: Flying Cars and Robots With Bad Hair
From the title you might guess that this evening we have mainly been watching Blade Runner - to be precise, the initial workprint of Blade Runner (which I've had on the Final Cut box set for ages and never got round to watching).
For those not in the know the workprint of Blade Runner was legendary for many years. Basically it's the version of the film that was shown to test audiences twice, lead to the studio getting involved and - to many people - ruining the film. The added the explanatory opening crawl, the voiceover (by an obivously bored Harrison Ford) to make it more "film noir" and explain the plot to the less alert in the audience, taking out some of the pointers to Deckard's status, and - worst of all - adding the "happy ending".
The odd thing is that looking at the workprint now it's pretty much perfect. It needs a little tweaking, the music is a bit off, there's a few odd bits and bobs, but overall it's perfect. Every version since the original studio-bolloxed release, every director's cut or final cut or whatever, has been trying to get back to that version. Some day I want to track down the people who were there at the screenings in Denver and Dallas and ask them what the heck they were thinking. They saw perhaps one of the best SF movies ever made, in a form that was close to perfection, and trashed it so badly that the studio stepped in. It just backs up one of the rules I live by; Sturgeon's Law applies to SF, but it also applies to people. (The law is basically "90% of SF is crap; but 90% of everything is crap".)
What worries me is that Blade Runner is 27 years old. It's set in November 2019. In three months it will be 10 years to go. Come November 2019 I'm fully expecting flying cars and replicants. UFO let me down in 1980. Space:1999 let me down in 1999. 2001 let me down in 2001. Some day some SF film must get it right, surely?
I'm starting the campaign for the future that SF promised us, right here, right now. Flying cars by 2019 or SF fans will riot. Which no one wants, because it would be so pathetic...
For those not in the know the workprint of Blade Runner was legendary for many years. Basically it's the version of the film that was shown to test audiences twice, lead to the studio getting involved and - to many people - ruining the film. The added the explanatory opening crawl, the voiceover (by an obivously bored Harrison Ford) to make it more "film noir" and explain the plot to the less alert in the audience, taking out some of the pointers to Deckard's status, and - worst of all - adding the "happy ending".
The odd thing is that looking at the workprint now it's pretty much perfect. It needs a little tweaking, the music is a bit off, there's a few odd bits and bobs, but overall it's perfect. Every version since the original studio-bolloxed release, every director's cut or final cut or whatever, has been trying to get back to that version. Some day I want to track down the people who were there at the screenings in Denver and Dallas and ask them what the heck they were thinking. They saw perhaps one of the best SF movies ever made, in a form that was close to perfection, and trashed it so badly that the studio stepped in. It just backs up one of the rules I live by; Sturgeon's Law applies to SF, but it also applies to people. (The law is basically "90% of SF is crap; but 90% of everything is crap".)
What worries me is that Blade Runner is 27 years old. It's set in November 2019. In three months it will be 10 years to go. Come November 2019 I'm fully expecting flying cars and replicants. UFO let me down in 1980. Space:1999 let me down in 1999. 2001 let me down in 2001. Some day some SF film must get it right, surely?
I'm starting the campaign for the future that SF promised us, right here, right now. Flying cars by 2019 or SF fans will riot. Which no one wants, because it would be so pathetic...
Blogaday 13: It Had to Happen...
Well, yesterday was day 13 of my "blog-a-day" project and - as you may have noticed - I missed it. No real excuse. I could make something up but frankly I'd only be fooling myself (because no one else reads this, har har har).
Anyway. Here's what I would have written about yesterday.
I have a bit of a thing for chilli peppers. It's not just the tastes (and believe me on the plural, it's not just heat that chillies have; different varieties do have different tastes). The taste is important though - there's nothing better than some nice oven-roasted corn-on-the-cob with olive oil and strips of a Scotch Bonner chilli scattered over it. Mmmmm, corn. Anyway, what was I saying? Yes, not just the taste. Some chilli plants are quite attractive in their own right as houseplants, and even the most boring of them are enlivened by brightly coloured peppers popping up every so often.
So, here's a little list of recommended chilli pepper plants for growing at home... and at the end a plug for the place I buy mine from. Not getting anything for the link, darn it.
Scotch Bonnet - personal favourite for cooking. It's a pretty hot pepper so use sparingly, but the flavour is fantastic. Used a lot in Caribbean cooking; if it's jerked, it's got this in it. The plant is a bit leafy and boring, but the peppers are great. One to grow out-of-sight and use...
Purple Tiger - Great looking houseplant, it's got lovely variegated leaves (green and white) and white & purple flowers, then small purple chillies form. They taste not bad at all.
Thai Sun - Another good houseplant. Small dark-green leaves, white flowers and then small conical green & red peppers which point upwards. The peppers pack a fair bit of punch for their size!
Habanero - similar to the Scotch Bonnet in heat and taste. There's several varieties, the main difference being colour. Orange and red are the most common, but you can get chocolate, white, and pink. This is the one that tends to get used in hot sauces.
There are literally hundreds more chilli varieties...
One warning; if you are growing these as houseplants you need to warn small children (and adults) not to try one... they will do it only once, mind you.
Anyway, I get my seeds from http://www.chileseeds.co.uk/ - not the best designed site in the world (by a long chalk) but they send stuff out quickly and have 200 varieties of chilli to choose from. Try something unusual today...
Anyway. Here's what I would have written about yesterday.
I have a bit of a thing for chilli peppers. It's not just the tastes (and believe me on the plural, it's not just heat that chillies have; different varieties do have different tastes). The taste is important though - there's nothing better than some nice oven-roasted corn-on-the-cob with olive oil and strips of a Scotch Bonner chilli scattered over it. Mmmmm, corn. Anyway, what was I saying? Yes, not just the taste. Some chilli plants are quite attractive in their own right as houseplants, and even the most boring of them are enlivened by brightly coloured peppers popping up every so often.
So, here's a little list of recommended chilli pepper plants for growing at home... and at the end a plug for the place I buy mine from. Not getting anything for the link, darn it.
Scotch Bonnet - personal favourite for cooking. It's a pretty hot pepper so use sparingly, but the flavour is fantastic. Used a lot in Caribbean cooking; if it's jerked, it's got this in it. The plant is a bit leafy and boring, but the peppers are great. One to grow out-of-sight and use...
Purple Tiger - Great looking houseplant, it's got lovely variegated leaves (green and white) and white & purple flowers, then small purple chillies form. They taste not bad at all.
Thai Sun - Another good houseplant. Small dark-green leaves, white flowers and then small conical green & red peppers which point upwards. The peppers pack a fair bit of punch for their size!
Habanero - similar to the Scotch Bonnet in heat and taste. There's several varieties, the main difference being colour. Orange and red are the most common, but you can get chocolate, white, and pink. This is the one that tends to get used in hot sauces.
There are literally hundreds more chilli varieties...
One warning; if you are growing these as houseplants you need to warn small children (and adults) not to try one... they will do it only once, mind you.
Anyway, I get my seeds from http://www.chileseeds.co.uk/ - not the best designed site in the world (by a long chalk) but they send stuff out quickly and have 200 varieties of chilli to choose from. Try something unusual today...
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Blogaday 12: Watching Meteors...
This is a placeholder blog - too busy watching meteors! Astonomy blog here later...
And now it is later! I did blog yesterday, honest, time on the post above was 11:59pm.
Reason for not doing a proper blog was that I was out on a hillside watching meteors and getting very cold, then in my back garden on a sun lounger watching meteors with a cup of coffee and getting less cold. The Perseid meteor shower was peaking last night and while I didn't see a huge amount - maybe 25-30 or so, all told - a few of them were spectacular. There will still be a fair few zooming in tonight, possibly a lot, so it's still worth going out. Have a glance at the Jodrell Bank Meteor detector - what you're looking for is brightly coloured blobs (perhaps not as spectacular as their highlights page, but it gives the gist) and if you see a few it's worth going out. Face roughly north-east (look for Cassiopeia, it looks a bit like a wonky-W) and lean back - deckchair, lounger, blanket on the ground, whatever. And don't worry about finding somewhere too "dark skies", if you can see a few stars it's fine - in fact, if you can see Cassiopeia then it's more than good enough.
And then wait. You may have to wait for a long time, and you will think you've seen a few by the time you actually do see one; the eyes play tricks. But then you will actually see one and you'll not mistake it for anything else. To make sure that you definitely have seen one look along the line of it and it will have appeared to have come from a point in the north-east, just below Cassiopeia - that's the constellation of Perseus, hence the shower is called the Perseids. The techincal term for that is the "radiant" because the shower appears to radiate from there. As to why it does - it's the same reason why when you're driving into snow it appears to be radiating from right in front of you. The Perseids are debris from a comet's tail sitting about minding their own business when the Earth drives into them, and just like the snow we see them radiate from our direction of travel.
You might be lucky and see other meteors too, other random bits of debris that just happen to hit the atmosphere. I saw two last night, and one of them was spectacular - slow, bright, and with a tail that took seconds to fade.
But what happens if you don't see anything? Well, why not look for other things? Look for satellites; they're bright and fairly quick moving and thanks to our modern world you'll see several an hour. Look for the International Space Station and Iridium flares - hurrah, I've already blogged on them. Look for the planets - there's a nice interactive sky chart at Astronomy Now or there's cheap apps available for many mobile phones and PDAs.
And here's a little project for later in the year; how to find a nebula without any kind of telescope. First you need to find Orion; check the charts above and you'll see that this is definitely a project for later in the year or early next. Anyway, Orion is easy to recognise; it's compact, distinctive and the three stars of Orion's belt stand out very clearly. Below Orion's belt are a couple of "stars", that often are used to form the sword hanging from his belt. If you look at them you'll see that they look a bit fuzzy. Congratulations, you've just seen a nebula. In particular, you've seen M42 - the Orion Nebula. In you have binoculars have a look - track down from the belt and you'll start to see a little bit of shape to the fuzz. With a telescope you can start to see colours and more shape. But if you have access to a space telescope (say Hubble) you can see this...
And frankly I can't follow that!
And now it is later! I did blog yesterday, honest, time on the post above was 11:59pm.
Reason for not doing a proper blog was that I was out on a hillside watching meteors and getting very cold, then in my back garden on a sun lounger watching meteors with a cup of coffee and getting less cold. The Perseid meteor shower was peaking last night and while I didn't see a huge amount - maybe 25-30 or so, all told - a few of them were spectacular. There will still be a fair few zooming in tonight, possibly a lot, so it's still worth going out. Have a glance at the Jodrell Bank Meteor detector - what you're looking for is brightly coloured blobs (perhaps not as spectacular as their highlights page, but it gives the gist) and if you see a few it's worth going out. Face roughly north-east (look for Cassiopeia, it looks a bit like a wonky-W) and lean back - deckchair, lounger, blanket on the ground, whatever. And don't worry about finding somewhere too "dark skies", if you can see a few stars it's fine - in fact, if you can see Cassiopeia then it's more than good enough.
And then wait. You may have to wait for a long time, and you will think you've seen a few by the time you actually do see one; the eyes play tricks. But then you will actually see one and you'll not mistake it for anything else. To make sure that you definitely have seen one look along the line of it and it will have appeared to have come from a point in the north-east, just below Cassiopeia - that's the constellation of Perseus, hence the shower is called the Perseids. The techincal term for that is the "radiant" because the shower appears to radiate from there. As to why it does - it's the same reason why when you're driving into snow it appears to be radiating from right in front of you. The Perseids are debris from a comet's tail sitting about minding their own business when the Earth drives into them, and just like the snow we see them radiate from our direction of travel.
You might be lucky and see other meteors too, other random bits of debris that just happen to hit the atmosphere. I saw two last night, and one of them was spectacular - slow, bright, and with a tail that took seconds to fade.
But what happens if you don't see anything? Well, why not look for other things? Look for satellites; they're bright and fairly quick moving and thanks to our modern world you'll see several an hour. Look for the International Space Station and Iridium flares - hurrah, I've already blogged on them. Look for the planets - there's a nice interactive sky chart at Astronomy Now or there's cheap apps available for many mobile phones and PDAs.
And here's a little project for later in the year; how to find a nebula without any kind of telescope. First you need to find Orion; check the charts above and you'll see that this is definitely a project for later in the year or early next. Anyway, Orion is easy to recognise; it's compact, distinctive and the three stars of Orion's belt stand out very clearly. Below Orion's belt are a couple of "stars", that often are used to form the sword hanging from his belt. If you look at them you'll see that they look a bit fuzzy. Congratulations, you've just seen a nebula. In particular, you've seen M42 - the Orion Nebula. In you have binoculars have a look - track down from the belt and you'll start to see a little bit of shape to the fuzz. With a telescope you can start to see colours and more shape. But if you have access to a space telescope (say Hubble) you can see this...
And frankly I can't follow that!
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