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After a little break (of 25 years or so) Bob King is celebrating his retirement with a return to The North 103.3's airwaves!After almost 40 years with the Duluth News Tribune, Bob is now retired. But scratch a print guy and you'll find a radio guy; King and then-UMD Planetarium Director Glen Langhorst hosted Startalk on KUMD for several years in the early '90s.Listen for Astro Bob every other Tuesday at 8am on Northland Morning.

Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy: Conjunctions and Occultations

Stellarium

The cosmos are staying busy.

On December 1st, you can see Jupiter and the moon paired up together in conjunction. "And they're kind of... a warmup act," says Bob King alluding to the special conjunction of the full moon and the planet Mars at its peak. "The moon is actually going to completely cover Mars, and we call that event an occultation." At 9:07pm on December 7th, Mars will slip behind the moon for an hour before reappearing on the other side. "It's a special occasion."

For the next couple of weeks, satellites will be visible in the sky, including the International Space Station and the Chinese Space Station. There are several apps to track the sightings and paths of space stations. ISS Spotter app (iPhones), ISS Detector app (for Android) and Heavens Above website are all ways to track and spot the satellites.

And Artimis I is making its way around the moon. It managed to capture images of the moon eclipsing the earth. "It's the coolest thing," says King.

NASA

Expect more on the voyage of Artimis I when Bob King returns to Northland Morning on December 13th.

Luke Moravec is the host for Northland Morning on The North 103.3. He’s also a local actor, musician and writer. He loves puzzles, riddles and fun mysteries.
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