RSID: <<2022-01-07T00:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

Welcome to program 238 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:45 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:54 MFSK32: Czech radio switches off MW and LW*
  6:33 MFSK64: Mission to trans-Neptunian object Sedna?
10:26 MFSK64: This week's images*
27:34 MFSK32: Closing announcements

* with image(s)



Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on Twitter now: @SWRadiogram or twitter.com/swradiogram





From Deutsche Presse-Agentur:

Czech radio switches off medium wave as 2022 starts

January 1, 2022

Prague (dpa) - Radio reception on medium wave (MW) and long wave
(LW) has been history in many parts of Europe for years.

Now, in the Czech Republic, at least the public broadcaster
stopped transmitting on MW and LW as the new year started.

The powerful transmitters on the frequencies 270, 639 and 954
kilohertz could also be received in large parts of Germany.

The reason given for the move was the widespread availability of
terrestrial digital radio DAB+ and the high costs of
broadcasting.

Those still listening using medium waves were to be persuaded to
switch with a campaign. The radio station Cesky Rozhlas set up a
telephone hotline to answer questions.

It was not known at first whether the transmitters would be
retained or used for other purposes.

The antenna of the medium-wave transmitter Liblice B east of
Prague is considered the highest structure in the Czech Republic,
with a height of 355 metres.

Impuls, the most-listened to private radio station, wants to
remain faithful to medium wave for the time being. It broadcasts
its second programme, with pop and country music, on analogue
transmission [981 kHz].

https://bit.ly/3JIMuvQ


Image: A tower at the Liblice transmitter site ...


Sending Pic:108x209C;




Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...
 

RSID: <<2022-01-07T00:37Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>



This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net

 

2029 will be the perfect year to launch a mission to Sedna

by Scott Alan Johnston, Universe Today
January 5, 2022

Object 90377 Sedna—a distant trans-Neptunian object known best
for its highly elliptical, 11,390-year long orbit—is currently on
its way toward perihelion (its closest approach to the sun) in
2076. After that, Sedna will swing out into deep space again and
won't be back for millennia, making this flyby a
once-in-a-lifetime (or, once in ~113 lifetimes) opportunity to
study an object from the far reaches of our solar system. There
are no missions to Sedna in the works just yet, but astronomers
are beginning to plan for the possibility, and the ideal launch
date for such a mission is approaching fast, with two of the best
launch windows coming up in 2029 and 2034.

Sedna was discovered in 2003 by Caltech astronomer Mike Brown and
his team, and was one of a series of potential dwarf planets
(alongside similar-sized bodies like Haumea, Makemake, and Eris)
whose discovery led to the demotion of Pluto in 2006. As best we
can tell from a distance, Sedna is about the same size as Ceres,
the largest object in the asteroid belt, but its composition and
origins are different. Its chemical makeup suggests it may be
covered in deep reddish organic compounds known as tholins, the
same material seen on Pluto and other Kuiper belt objects. Unlike
Pluto, it is usually too cold for the methane abundant on its
surface to evaporate and fall back as snow, though Sedna may
briefly gain an atmosphere of nitrogen as it approaches the sun.

What really sets Sedna apart from the other known dwarf planet
candidates is its enormous orbit, which takes it out toward the
inner edge of the Oort cloud, the most distant region of the
solar system, where long-period comets lurk. There are several
competing theories to explain how Sedna ended up in this
position. Perhaps the most high-profile theory is the possibility
that a yet unknown ninth planet, perhaps 10 times the size of
Earth, disrupted Sedna's orbit and swept it and several other
objects out into highly elongated orbits. Visiting Sedna probably
won't solve this particular mystery, but it will tell us a lot
about the composition of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects.

Reaching Sedna with a spacecraft won't be a simple task. Even at
its closest approach, Sedna will only come about 76AU from the
sun. For comparison, Neptune is about 30AU, and the Voyager
missions, launched in 1977, are just now crossing 150AU and 125AU
respectively. That means the time to launch is sooner, rather
than later.

In planning a mission to Sedna, the Voyager spacecraft are not
bad places to look for inspiration. They famously took advantage
of a lucky alignment of planets to take a grand tour of the outer
solar system, stealing energy from Jupiter to pick up speed and
reach their more distant targets. Similar gravity assists will be
required to make the trip to Sedna manageable. A team of
scientists led by Vladislav Zubko from the Space Research
Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences recently modeled a
series of possible trajectories to Sedna, favoring a 2029 launch
date as the most feasible option.

The 2029 trajectory, they determined, would take the spacecraft
to Venus first, then back to Earth (twice), before passing
Jupiter on the way to Sedna, with flight times as short as 20
years, but more optimally in the 30-year range. The longer flight
time would increase the altitude of the spacecraft over Jupiter
during the gravity assist, reducing the time spent exposed to the
gas giant's harmful radiation.

A 30-year flight plan would also mean passing by Sedna more
slowly, providing more time to gather data on the object.
Choosing this option would give the spacecraft a relative
velocity of 13.70km/s as it passed Sedna, comparable to the speed
at which New Horizons approached Pluto in 2015.

As a bonus, this trajectory would also take the spacecraft past a
145-km diameter asteroid named Massalia, providing the team with
an additional scientific target to study, as well as a chance to
test the spacecraft's systems.

A second trajectory proposed by the team would consist of a 2034
launch, and would provide a similar additional flyby, this time
of the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche.

At the moment, it's unclear whether a mission to Sedna will
actually make it to the launch pad with all the competing options
available to mission planners in the coming decade, but as it's
our only chance in the next 11,000 years, the idea is sure to be
given due diligence.

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-year-mission-sedna.html

 

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

This week's images ...
 

A blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) parrot at a show in Kuwait
City, January 1. https://bit.ly/3zCkBAT ...

Sending Pic:134x206C;






Sunset from the Cais de Colunas on the the Tagus river in Lisbon.
https://bit.ly/3G0cqRb ...

Sending Pic:138x206C;





A swan at Gartmorn Dam, Sauchie, Scotland. https://bbc.in/3EYIgwC
...

Sending Pic:205x147C;








A sidewalk in Washington DC after the past week's snow.
https://bit.ly/3pZphh3 ...


Sending Pic:304x235;






Fires in Louisville (left) and Superior (right), Colorado, as
seen from Boulder, December 30. https://bit.ly/3ETp96Y ...

Sending Pic:208x142C;








Vehicles stranded (some for 24 hours) on I95 south of Washington
after the snow on January 3. https://nbcnews.to/3qN1ct0 ...

Sending Pic:205x142C;







Sunset at Willard Bay State Park, Utah. https://bit.ly/3qPjwSp
...

Sending Pic:211x115C;








A foggy New Year's morning at High Point State Park, New Jersey.
https://bit.ly/3pXbNlN

Sending Pic:179x194C;







A tram at the blue hour in Budapest. https://bit.ly/3JOI8mI ...

Sending Pic:207x134C;




 

Our painting of the week is "Celebration" by Canadian artist Chin
Yuen. https://bit.ly/3G3FgQJ ...

Sending Pic:159x209C;





Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...




 

RSID: <<2022-01-07T00:57Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...

 

Shortwave Radiogram is transmitted by:

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and

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Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

Twitter: @SWRadiogram or twitter.com/swradiogram

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.

RSID: <<2022-01-07T00:58Z FSKH-245 @ 9265000+1500>>

RSID: <<2022-01-07T00:59Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

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