Can I make a podcast about Halton Arp?

Who are you asking Mike?

Those who manage this outreach/programme/whatever aren’t reading this blog are they?

And a podcast about Halton Arp’s contributions to astronomy could be a very interesting one indeed … after all, there’s an excellent reference work that bears his name (”The Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies”, I think that’s its name), even if it’s now of little more than historical interest, if only because anyone taking part in the Galaxy Zoo’s Merger Hunter project could bag more such objects in an hour or so’s classifying than in the entirety of Arp’s catalogue.

Most interesting of all might be a clear exposition of how astronomy, as a science, works … ideas such as quasar intrinsic redshift are subject to objective, independently verifiable (and verified) tests, and if found wanting are discarded. I suspect, however, that even a summary of the ways in which observations since the early 1970s clearly show Arp’s ideas are wanting would greatly exceed the length allowed for a podcast …

To celebrate IYoA, Industry Canada is letting Canadian radio amateurs use special callsigns for Jan/Feb 2009. I will be doing this as CG3OIJ. I’m currently trying to think up an appropriate, astronomy-related QSL (acknowlegement) card design.

Well, even though I don’t have any kit to operate on HF….

A great big Hello from G0TSR.

I reckon there must be plenty of Hubble images that would make good QSL-card fodder.

Ooh! Or, how about the Cassini image taken in the shadow of Saturn? You could put a little arrow pointing at the Earth with a sign that says “you are here”!

Hey, Richard Drumm, February 4th is my birthday, too!

Hey, wow!! What are the chances of that???? Oh, about 1 in 365 I guess.