2025-03-02 13:06:06
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-18
A very low 22 degree pass on a cloudless March afternoon. After weeks of being trapped under a sheet of grey the scattered blue light of the sky is so very welcome. I sit listening to the beeps of the pass watching a sleepy Bumble Bee wave around after his winter rest. Yellow Hazel catkins tremble on a slight breeze and seem to vibrate in time with the click of the radio waves. For this brief moment, everything is connected.
11 degrees Celsius
54% humidity
1032mb
2025-02-02 18:15:43
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-15
Having accidentally left out my aerial and SDR for two nights I feared my kit was dead. Having left the kit to dry for a good 24 hours I tried two passes this morning that had such bad interference I felt annoyingly gloomy even with a day of blue skies and sun. However after some online forum research and some kind soul giving me some tips for testing it looks like my precious kit is okay.
The Moon and Venus are neighbours tonight.
3.7 degrees Celcius
74% humidity
1015 hPa/mb
2025-01-26 17:54:58
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-15
After Storm Éowyn. More wind is on it's way and the sky tonight has layers of higher denser cloud with lower and thinner fast moving cloud that race by across the faces of Jupiter and Venus. The breeze is getting stronger and by the time the pass has finished the clouds part like theatre curtains to reveal more of the planets and the winter constellations of Orion and Taurus. The idea of grabbing my telescope briefly floats in my head but it's quickly squashed by the processed pass of NOAA 15 more where I can see more weather from the west and pushing up from the south. Like the life span of a cloud the moment has gone.
5 degrees Celcius
88% humidity
974 mb
2025-01-22 17:59:07
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-15
Storm Éowyn is on it's way but they are unclear how it will unfurl. I can see from the pass that something is heading towards us off the Atlantic. Warnings are changing from yellow to red and I feel for those who will again experience flooding or winds that will cut power for hours or days. We are not a robust country. Our red warning is very different from other places on the planet. The merging of seasons has left us confused and stuck. Sort paralysed by the bigger picture. A low cloud sits above my head as it glows an unsightly orange from the light of the city. Jupiter's pinpoint of light shines through the blanket of cloud. This is another night without the stars.
5 degrees Celcius
90% humidity
995 mb
2025-01-19 12:01:13
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-18
It's mid January and grey. There is no bird song today. Just one lonely gull flying above land locked and trapped between the desolate winter ground and the concreate pallor of the thick cloud. During the pass I look for signs of spring from plants and fruits that shrivel to nothing to protect themselves. Today's pass isn't clear. An over sight from me for not unravelling the cables properly. Cracked lines and a broken image seem to echo a deeper global anxiety. Or maybe it's just January blues.
2 degrees Celsius
81% humidity
1019 mb
2025-01-09 18:37:29
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-15
Another cold frosty night. An 80% Moon illuminates the frost on the grass. Tiny ice crystals shimmer and glimmer in brightness of the reflected moon light. I try and spot the satellite overhead but lots of fainter objects are fighting for recognition in the blinding lunar light. There the pin sharp brilliance of Venus to the west, Jupiter to the south east and Mars rising in the east. On packing away I walk across the grass leaving footprints that remind me of the moon landings or the fossilised prints left millions of years ago by the dinosaurs. As I type this I can hear the news from the next room reporting on the fires in California. What kind of footprints are being left there today and what about the footprints of the generations to come?
0.1 degrees Celsius
90% humidity
1005 mb
2025-01-07 20:36:34
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham,
NOAA-19
A clear cold night. The winter constellations hang overhead in all their beautiful glory. Orion, Pleiades, Auriga and Taurus drawing out the maps of ancient skies. The lawn is crispy underfoot. The UK is clear on the map except for some small parallel clouds across the counties of Cheshire and the cities of Liverpool and Chester.
1 degree Celsius
90% humidity
1001 mb
2025-01-06 20:50:07
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-19
It's cold. It's been cold all day. I am stood watching Mars and Jupiter fade in out of the clouds along with a quarter Moon. There are layers of cloud tonight. Lower ones are moving fast and in small wispy shapes. The higher clouds glow an orange colour from the light pollution and as I pad around on the lawn during the pass I hear the splashing of water against my boots and I notice that the lawn is water logged in places. There was so much rain last night and another down pouring of sleet and snow today. Airports were shut, roads and rail lines flooded. More to come.
3.1 degrees Celsius
99% humidity
990mb
2025-01-02 10:06:55
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-19
A bright and crisp morning. Blue skies and frost underfoot. There is a stillness to the day and though it's already the 2nd January the new year feels like it's still slowly unfurling. Blue Tits and Robins interject with pips and chirps that are bumped off the musical score by the prehistoric caws and croaks of the corvids.
The British Isles are clear. A rare sight indeed.
2 degrees celsius
82% humidity
air pressure 1011 hPa/mb
2024-12-31 11:00:29
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-18
A low winter sun brushed over the bare trees and though it tried to break through it was beaten by the cloud. While the pass happened I moved the outside furniture and bins around in preparation for the windy weather that was forecast for the afternoon.
10 degrees Celsius
2024-12-29 20:52:41
Pauline Woolley
The Urban Garden, Nottingham, UK
UK
NOAA-19
A night time pass. It's 8 degrees Celsius. Cloud whispers across the sky. Jupiter is a small smoky dot that battles for attention. There is a slight breeze and it feels much colder than the temperature states.
90% humidity
1018 air pressure