AO-73 (FUNcube-1) – Image credit Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG

On October 11-2 the Monkton Nature Reserve & Thanet Observatory will be listening to the amateur radio satellite FUNcube-1 and will have an ARDF activity.

On the BIS World Space Week pages they say:

Daytime – we will have solar telescopes to observe the Sun’s surface and prominences. We will have on show the only Solar Ionospheric Disturbance monitor in the United Kingdom which will indicate when the Sun is giving out a solar flare – of huge importance to the communication and navigation satellites in orbit.

The Hilderstone Radio Club will demonstrate the reception of data from the FUNcube satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) giving information on the temperature of its special black and shiny panels in deep space. Using this data visitors can determine the period of its orbit and its speed. They will also demonstrate the reception of weather satellite pictures sent by radio waves to Earth.

We will put on a radio direction finding activity, similar to Geocaching, where visitors have to find hidden transmitters using only a handheld radio and antenna, with a prize for the shortest time.

The club will also set up a special radio station so that visitors can send messages to amateur radio enthusiasts around the world. Information on Space will be provided by the UK Space Agency and worksheets on satellites will be available with questions set by the Nottingham Geospatial Institute.

Source: http://www.bis-space.com/wsw/event-news/monkton-stargazing-weekend/

Celebrate UN-declared World Space Week October 4-10. The biggest public space science #STEM event in the world – Use hashtag #WSW2014
Twitter https://twitter.com/WorldSpaceWeek
Web http://www.worldspaceweek.org/

Hilderstone Radio Club http://g0hrs.org/

Monkton Nature Reserve & Thanet Observatory http://www.monkton-reserve.org/one-b/