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Is Halloween early this year
as a Blood Moon is set to rise?
Above is a manipulated image to act as an example.
AN early Hallowe'en treat is in
store for us on Monday, 28 September 2015, in the sky above us. So far,
since 1900, only 5 total lunar eclipses have coincided with a super moon,
with the last taking place back in 1982. These total lunar eclipses are
extremely interesting, as this rare celestial phenomenon which sees the
Earth shadow cast on to the Moon turning it a copper colour to deep red.
During a lunar eclipse, depending on the conditions and your location,
you'll see the Earth's shadow, a copper colour dark mark, creeping across
the moon's face. This amazing show will be visible from the most of Northern
Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. For us in the North it will be the
nearest Harvest Moon, or full moon to the September equinox. In the Southern
Hemisphere, it will be the first full moon of spring. During totality, the
Moon's face will suddenly change, appearing a breathtaking deep red colour.
This effect has, over the ages, been nicknamed "blood moon"
and has inspired myths, legends, and superstitions ever since man started to
walk the Earth. Thankfully we now know that it is not demonic or other evil
at play, but the change of colour happens because of sunlight that is
filtered and refracted by Earth's atmosphere. Earth's atmosphere extends
about 50 miles (80 kilometres) above Earth's surface, so the earlier the
Eclipse is, the better the colour. As sunlight passes through our
atmosphere, the green to violet portion of the light spectrum is, filtered
out, leaving more of the red light spectrum illuminating the Moon's surface.
Think of sunsets and sunrises. The deepness of the colour will also be
dependent on atmospheric conditions. The event can be affected by a range of
conditions, from dust, humidity and temperature. Let's hope no volcano
erupts, as back in 1992, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, in the Philippines,
led to so much dust being thrown into the Earth's atmosphere, that the
totally eclipse of the Moon could barely be seen in places. For us in the
North West of the UK, sadly the Met Office is predicting cloudy skies so
let's hope they get that wrong, as the next one like it won't be until 2033!
Unlike the solar eclipse, this event will take 5 hours, 11 minutes to go
through all the phases. In the UK, this amazing astronomical show will be in
the wee hours of Monday, 28 September 2015, starting with the partial moving
left to right, at 1:11am GMT. Totally will be at 3:47am GMT and the end of
the 2nd partial and the eclipse will be at 5:27am. To find out more facts
about the Moon and what effect it has on us, please
here.
Other goodies to view as we head into winter will be:-
The conjunction of Mars and Jupiter, takes place on the night of 17 October
2015. The conjunction will take place in the Northern Hemisphere's predawn
sky, Mars and Jupiter will appear to be very close together, creating a
beautiful conjunction in the sky. So get your binoculars and telescope ready
for a closer look, but you can see it with a naked eye as well, just not as
clearly!
The latest super moon of 2015 will be over the night of 27 October/28
October 2015.
Should favourable conditions allow, the next shows will be the annual
Draconids and the Orionids meteor showers. The Draconids will be peek on the
8 October 2015 and then the predawn show of the Orionids, starting on the 21
October and ending on 23 October 2015. Draconids are best viewed from the
Northern Hemisphere and are very unpredictable and the most radiant point is
likely to be when they may appear highest in the sky as darkness falls, so
take out a telescope for this show! Also we suggest you note that the best
viewing for the Orionids, in 2015, will probably be before dawn on 22
October 2015. Keep an eye out too, around the midnight to dawn hours, on
both 21 October and 23 October, as you could still see quite of them.
With no moon to hid the show, if cloud free, take note! Over 13 December to
14 December 2015, from mid evening until dawn, the last of the amazing
astronomical offerings for 2015 will take place. This will be the peak of
the Geminids meteor shower. These meteors are often bright and have around
50 to 100 meteors per hour, visible at the peak. So if you brave the cold
air, it should be quite a show...
Don't get us wrong, as there are many more interesting things taking place
above us, but these are the highlights of the astronomical calendar for many
amateur astronomers, as is the Taurids meteor shower.
Also, if you are interested in the night sky,
check out and/or join:- Liverpool
Astronomical Society (LAS)
who are the oldest amateur astronomical society in the world, as it was founded
in 1881. UK Students for the Exploration
and Development of Space (SEDS),
who are an international student organization whose purpose is to promote space
exploration and development through educational and engineering projects.
Plus check out Things We Don't Know (TWDK)
website. This is a site set up by an
ex-Liverpudlian that is dedicated to explaining the questions to which science
is still seeking answers to.
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Search is on for 322
seasonal workers in Manchester and North Lancashire this Christmas
LEADING digital retailer Argos is
looking for around 322 seasonal workers in Manchester and North Lancashire to
help make Christmas happen for thousands of local shoppers this Christmas.
Additional customer helpers are being sought to support Argos' 30 stores in
Manchester and North Lancashire to meet customer demand for toys, video games,
technology and other popular Christmas gifts this festive season.
48 drivers with great customer service skills are required in Manchester and
North Lancashire to support Argos' store to customer door distribution service
during the peak shopping season, which it expects to be highly popular with
customers looking for the certainty of same day delivery.
Initial contracts for all vacancies are around 3 months, with the potential for
some roles to become permanent at the end of the season, where vacancies exist.
Recruits will be offered a minimum of 10 hours per week (minimum of 6 hours per
week for weekend staff).
Roles are available at stores across the UK, including more than 100 digital
Argos stores which combine the benefits of online shopping inside a physical
store.
Andy Clark, Regional Manager for Manchester and North Lancashire at Argos said:-
"Christmas is the busiest and most exciting time to be in retail and our
ability to offer more than 20,000 products for the whole family within easy
reach is why millions of people shop with us over the festive season.
To make sure we offer customers the best possible service, we need extra support
in our stores and we're looking for people who are customer focused, energetic
and enthusiastic. As we gear up to make getting hold of Christmas gifts as easy
as possible, for the first time we are also seeking drivers to join our store
teams and support local deliveries to customers.
People are at the heart of our business and we are committed to maintaining the
friendly, personal service we are known for, whether customers are shopping
online or in store. We can offer fantastic, flexible training that will also
benefit people for the long term."
Argos serves more than 121 million customers throughout its network of stores
every year, with 95% of the population living less than 10 miles from an Argos
store.
New team members will receive competitive rates of pay and immediate benefits of
10% staff discount at Argos and 20% discount at sister company Homebase. The
'My
Benefits' scheme gives all staff exclusive savings and local discounts
both online and in a variety of other high street retailers.
Successful applicants can gain valuable and transferable skills via Argos' Open
Door training system. This enables them to work through retail training modules
at work, on the move or from the comfort of their own home using their smartphone,
tablet or PC.
For the 4th consecutive year, Argos will be continuing its successful
partnership with TUI UK, parent company of Thomson and First Choice, under which
summer seasonal workers with the travel company can apply for roles in their
local Argos store for the winter season.
Interested candidates can apply for all roles
online.
Scouting For Girls heading to Liverpool and
are due to release new album
DO you remember the pop group
'Scouting For Girls?' Well this award winning band is due to return with
a brand new album called:- 'Still Thinking About You'. They are
also heading to Liverpool's O2 Academy, on 3 December 2015! The album will be
released on 16 October 2015, by East West Records and should be available to
pre-order now on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Amazon (signed). So when they head
to Liverpool shortly, you will be 1 of the 1st to see the group perform the new
tracks live! We have bee told that Scouting For Girls have taken a
new approach to writing and recording and the new tracks will have a fresh, more
mature sound. Plus 'Still Thinking About You' is the West London
band's 1st album of new material since 2012, and their 1st for new label East
West.
"On'Still Thinking About You', we've embraced what people love about this band
and we've made the ultimate Scouting For Girls record. We tried to make a
collection of songs that worked together, which we'd never really done before.
And we wanted to make songs that connect truthfully and emotionally. It's about
being instinctive, and honest. As weird as it sounds, so few records these days
have any real instruments on them We've got proper pianos, and proper strings.
We didn't want anything tuned on the vocals. We'd just sing it till it sounded
good and natural." frontman Roy Stride told us.
If you don't know the band... Well... They comprise of lifelong friends Stride
(vocals, guitar, piano), Greg Churchouse (bass), and Pete Ellard (drums), the
trio met at school and formed Scouting For Girls in 2005. With 4 Top 10 albums
and 4 Top 10 singles to their name, including a No.1 album (2007's self titled
debut) and a No.1 single (2010's This Ain't A Love Song), Scouting For Girls
have an impressive chart pedigree. They have been nominated for four Brit
Awards, an Ivor Novello, and have sold out Wembley Arena and Royal Albert Hall.
Befitting a man who has penned several massive chart and radio hits including
She's So Lovely, Heartbeat, Elvis Ain't Dead and the aforesaid This Ain't A Love
Song, Stride is hugely in demand as a songwriter and producer, whose
compositions have been recorded by One Direction, McBusted, Olly Murs, and 5
Seconds Of Summer.
If you want to see them live, at Liverpool's O2 Academy, on 3 December 2015,
book your tickets now, from Ticketmaster and
gigsandtours.com.
If you do go to the show, please let us know what you thought of
it, via emailing us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.Com. |
