RSID: <<2022-02-18T00:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

Welcome to program 244 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:

  1:41 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:48 MFSK32: Tiny new planet around Sun's nearest neighbor*
  8:50 MFSK64: Dramatic sea level rise over next 30 years
12:06 MFSK64: This week's images*
28:27 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





From New Atlas:

Tiny new planet discovered around Sun's nearest neighbor

Michael Irving
February 14, 2022

Astronomers may have detected a new exoplanet around Proxima
Centauri, the star closest to our solar system. This tiny new
world is one of the lightest ever discovered, which is even more
impressive given the technique the team used to find it.

Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star just four light-years away
from us, in the constellation Centaurus. In 2016 the first
exoplanet in the system was discovered – Proxima b, an
Earth-sized world that orbits the star every 11 days. A few years
later, hints of a second planet arose, with a mass of about six
Earths and a five-year orbit. Both of these planets orbit within
the star's habitable zone, where temperatures are just right for
liquid water to potentially gather on the surface.

And now astronomers have detected signs of a third planet in the
system. Proxima d, as it's known, is actually closer to the star
than its siblings, orbiting every five days at a distance about
one-tenth of Mercury's distance from the Sun. That makes it a bit
too close to be in the habitable zone.

Proxima d was discovered using the radial velocity technique,
which involves watching for slight wobbles of a star produced by
the gravitational pull of orbiting planets. In this case, that
wobble was tiny, moving Proxima Centauri back and forth at about
1.44 km/h (0.89 mph), meaning it took follow-up observations to
confirm it wasn't just the star itself changing. With a mass just
one quarter that of Earth, Proxima d is now the lightest
exoplanet ever discovered using this method.

"This achievement is extremely important," said Pedro Figueira,
an author of the study. "It shows that the radial velocity
technique has the potential to unveil a population of light
planets, like our own, that are expected to be the most abundant
in our galaxy and that can potentially host life as we know it."

As exciting as it is to find new planets so close, we might need
to look further afield to find signs of life. Red dwarfs are
known to be more active, throwing off flares and radiation that
would strip away the atmospheres of orbiting exoplanets. Proxima
Centauri itself has even shown that rowdy side, with a huge flare
detected in 2017 far surpassing anything our Sun is capable of.
Billions of years under this kind of space weather would likely
sterilize any planet of its atmosphere and oceans long before
life could take hold, even it were located within the habitable
zone.

Still, it's a fascinating star system, and its proximity to us
makes it a worthwhile target for further study.

The research was published in the journal Astronomy &
Astrophysics.

Source: European Southern Observatory

https://newatlas.com/space/proxima-d-centauri-exoplanet-nearest-star/

 

Image: An artist's impression of Proxima d ...

Sending Pic:192x132C;







Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...

 

RSID: <<2022-02-18T00:38Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net

 

From the Voice of America:

Dramatic Sea Level Rise Forecast for US Over Next 30 Years

Steve Herman W7VOA
February 15, 2022

Washington - The United States is expected to experience as much
sea level rise by the year 2050 as the country has witnessed in
the past century, according to a report led by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and released
Tuesday.

"Sea levels continue to rise at a very alarming rate, and it's
endangering communities around the world," Bill Nelson,
administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), told reporters during an online briefing.
"And that means it's past time to take action on this climate
crisis."

Man-made carbon emissions, however, cannot be totally blamed for
the inevitable rise, according to Richard Spinrad, NOAA
administrator.

"Current and future emissions matter, but this will happen no
matter what we do about emissions," Spinrad said. "If emissions
continue at their current pace, it is likely we will see at least
two feet (61 centimeters) of sea-level rise by the end of this
century along the U.S. coastlines."

With the forecast of an average sea level rise of 10-12 inches
(25.4 cm to 30.5 cm) by 2050, about 140,000 homes would be at
risk of being flooded about every other week, according to the
report.

Forty percent of the U.S. population lives within about 100
kilometers of a coastline.

The sea level rise will intensify high tides, storm surges,
coastal erosion and loss of wetlands.

"Communities now dealing with nuisance flooding will be facing
more damaging floods in just 30 years' time," said Nicole
LeBoeuf, director of the NOAA National Ocean Service. "Another
way to think about this is that a single flooding event, one that
now happens every four to five years on average, in coastal
communities in the southeast United States will occur four to
five times per year."

The projections in the document are based on observations from
coastal tide gauges and satellite imagery.

Nelson, a former U.S. senator, said the current administration is
taking a whole-of-government approach to confront climate change.

"Different agencies, finally, are coming together to leverage
their expertise to advance our understanding and planning for the
future," Nelson said.

"This new data on sea rise is the latest reconfirmation that our
climate crisis - as the president has said - is blinking 'code
red,'" Gina McCarthy, the White House national climate adviser,
said in a statement. "We must redouble our efforts to cut the
greenhouse gases that cause climate change, while at the same
time, help our coastal communities become more resilient in the
face of rising seas."

In response to a question from VOA about what the best mitigation
projects for the federal government and communities would be to
undertake, William Sweet, an oceanographer at NOAA's National
Ocean Service, said it is all about being on higher ground.

Storm water systems will need to be examined, he explained, and
"when there's an opportunity to relocate major infrastructure -
schools, fire departments, energy plants - elevation needs to be
considered," said Sweet, the lead author of the 111-page report.

Among the worst-hit U.S. cities by midcentury: Galveston in Texas
and St. Petersburg in Florida, which are forecast to see about a
60 centimeter rise in the sea level over the next four decades.

A study published in January in monthly journal Nature Climate
Change predicted the cost of damage annually by flooding in the
United States could increase 26% by the year 2050, totaling more
than $40 billion, and it noted poor communities would be
disproportionately affected.

Early in the next century, there will be even worse trouble
ahead, according to Sweet. That is when the melting ice sheets in
Antarctica and Greenland are likely to send even more sea water
onto distant shores.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-sea-levels-rising/6443051.html

 

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

This week's images ...





Remembering Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, creator of the Automatic Packet
Reporting System (APRS) and expert on alternative power sources.
https://bit.ly/351lhVe ...

Sending Pic:206x149C;



 

Our propagation indicator is this vertical red line.
https://redlinefoundation.ch ...
 

Sending Pic:195x168C;


 

This goby with a red anemone background in the Sea of Oman is a
winner of the 2022 Underwater Photographer of the Year awards.
https://bit.ly/356NHwU ...

Sending Pic:201x153C;







A house amid the snow in Myvatn, Iceland, February 14.
https://bit.ly/3GTgIcN ...

Sending Pic:149x201C;

Eurasian eagle-owls look on during a meetup of the Kuwait Owl
Team, a local group dedicated to the protection and proliferation
of owls, in Kuwait City. https://bit.ly/3LIkppi ...

Sending Pic:204x136C;







A vulture sits on a tree as the sun rises at Kruger National
Park, South Africa. https://reut.rs/3I0RCtT ...

Sending Pic:193x189C;

Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Pleasantville, New York.
https://bit.ly/3rXdQaC ...

Sending Pic:194x322;






A modern view of the Argonaut Building, 224 West 57th Street in
New York City. The Voice of America, celebrating its 80th
anniversary this month, broadcast from this building in the
1940s. https://bit.ly/3oUZp5c ...

Sending Pic:146x204C;





Our painting of the week is "Focus of Attention" by David
Thauberger. https://bit.ly/3sKk8ty ...

Sending Pic:146x211C;





Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...

RSID: <<2022-02-18T00:58Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...

 

Shortwave Radiogram is transmitted by:

WRMI, Radio Miami International, wrmi.net

and

WINB Shortwave, winb.com


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.