Universe Today » Astrosphere

Unique Telescope Facility Opens In Swiss Biosphere

Tammy Plotner — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:04:51 +0000

In the easternmost part of Switzerland near the Italian border, lies a pristine area of land ranging from 1,400 to 3,173 meters above sea level. It encompasses 172,400 hectares of forests, alpine grasslands and bare rocks or screes that are strictly protected and not inhabited. Each year, around 50 researchers from Switzerland and abroad carry out scientific studies in the area. A research committee is responsible for the coordination of the various projects, such as hydrology, meteorology, biodiversity, ecology. Now, another specialty is arriving in this area in form of a private endeavor – astronomy. (...)
Read the rest of Unique Telescope Facility Opens In Swiss Biosphere (700 words)

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Astrosphere for April 15, 2008

Fraser Cain — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:03:58 +0000

Don't just look inward, look outward. There's a whole astrosphere out there. Your picture for the day is Saturn (of course), captured by Stargazer 7000.

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a beautiful shot of the night sky over Sweden.

PZ Myers has spoken and I must obey. Here's all you need to know about expelled.

And here's a review for another movie, Dark Matter.

Speaking of dark matter, Ethan Siegel explains the practical uses for his research.

Astroprof recalls famed astronomer John Archibald Wheeler; the man who coined the term "black hole" passed away this week.

Bad Astronomer Phil Plait celebrated Yuri's night, in style.

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Astrosphere for February 19, 2008

Fraser Cain — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:24:27 +0000

It might not look like it, but this photograph is mind-bendingly cool. The bright streak is the path of the International Space Station, and the dimmer one is the US military satellite that's going to crash back to Earth – both seen passing through the heart of Orion. Good job Autoclub!

Centauri Dreams talks about using the Sun's gravity as a natural telescope lens. Problem is, you have to get out to 550 AU to make it work.

The Space Review has a great article about people preparing for space tourism. So far, 93% have passed the physical tests.

In the future, solar power will rule!

APOD has a great picture of a recent spacewalk outside Columbus.

NY Times is reporting that NASA thinks it can fix a serious flaw in its Ares rocket design.

Astropixie wants to be Stephen Colbert's astrophysicist.

And finally, one of the best posts of read in a long time. Phil perfectly explains why science isn't faith.

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Astrosphere for February 12, 2008

Fraser Cain — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:24:23 +0000

Your image for the day isn't actually a photograph. It's a mixed-media art piece by Moya called "proto planet". It was made using glossy cardboard paper, various types of spray paint and stencils.

Centauri Dreams notes the ongoing discoveries coming out of the 45-year old Arecibo Observatory.

Astroprof helps clear up one of the eternal questions. How do astronomers choose colours when they prepare images of the night sky?

The imaging team leader for Cassini, Carolyn Porco, is consulting on the new Star Trek movie. Let's hope that helps them get the science right.

Starts with a Bang teaches you how to build a home in space.

Oh, and Happy Darwin Day.

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Astrosphere for February 7, 2008

Fraser Cain — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:21:43 +0000

Your photograph for today is the recent conjunction between Jupiter and Venus, captured by Shevill Mathers.

Starts with a Bang looks at the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation's inevitable slide towards the Radio Background.

A day without Astronomy Picture of the Day isn't a day. Today, check out NGC 4013.

Pamela Gay reviews astronomy software called "Where is M13".

There was a solar eclipse, did you notice? Ian Musgrave had the right perspective, and caught just a tiny snip taken out of the Sun.

Wired has a list of 10 technologies we could build if they weren't so friggin expensive.

Now this is thinking big. Next Big Future has an article about a rail gun system that could launch spacecraft into orbit.

Centauri Dreams looks at Project Longshot. A mission to send a probe to another star.

Do you have a space/astronomy blog? Let me know and I'll subscribe to your news feed. Write something cool and I'll link to it.

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Astrosphere for February 6, 2008

Fraser Cain — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:54:53 +0000

Your image for the day is a montage of the Solar System (well, the Sun and 3 planets) captured by Rumples Riot in the forum. This is really cool. Does anyone have a more complete montage they've photographed?

Science journalist Will Gater has updated his website with a brand new blog and an RSS feed. His latest post, about the density of Mercury is pretty great too.

And while I'm mentioning new blogs, check out Starts With a Bang! by astrophysicist Ethan Seigel. I had a chance to meet Ethan at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin and he's a great guy – and his blog is awesome. Here's a sample post about the difference between centripetal and centrifugal force.

Becky spots a weather balloon floating over New Mexico. It's easy to see how someone might think that's a UFO.

APOD has a great photograph of the Sun. What is this Sun thing they're talking about? We've still got clouds and more clouds here in Vancouver.

Keith Cowing at NASA Watch wonders who whines for Mars.

And finally, Astroprof looks at the Moon's southern pole. A nice place to visit?

Do you have a space/astronomy blog? Let me know and I'll subscribe to your news feed. Write something cool and I'll link to it.

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Astrosphere for February 5, 2008

Fraser Cain — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:16:15 +0000

Here's a beautiful picture of star trails above Costa Rica captured by Tim S. Jones. Doesn't it look like it's raining stars?

Centauri Dreams searches for a double sunrise.

It's boring work, but somebody's got to do it. The Planetary Society Blog analyzes what's good and bad in the new 2009 NASA budget. Alan Boyle calls it a comeback for big science. Yes, I'm putting off writing an article of my own. Can't… stay… awake.

Remember Asteroid 2007 WD5? That was the one that might have hit Mars in late January, 2008. Maybe it hit, maybe it didn't… I guess we'll never know.

Wouldn't it be convenient if dark matter and dark energy were the same thing? Then I could just call it dark manergy, or maybe dark eneratter.

CNN has joined the science/technology blog space with their new blog… SciTechBlog. Hey CNN, don't forget to link over here once in a while.

Pamela reports on an interesting discovery about the multiple sources for gamma ray bursts.

Chris Lintott is back in Hawaii, trying to make his way up to the snowy summit to play with telescopes, but nature is denying entry.

Finally, the folks at Astronomy Magazine have reviewed Universe Today writer Tammy Plotner's new book, the Night Sky Companion.

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Astrosphere for February 4, 2008

Fraser Cain — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:17:33 +0000

Your image for the day is NGC 1514, captured by Stargazer 7000.

Space Politics has a look at NASA's upcoming budget. There's going to be a NASA briefing later today, so we'll have more details soon.

Life everywhere? Centauri Dreams has an article about new research theorizing that terrestrial planets are common.

davep caught these cool pictures of star trails.

Astroprof talks about Mercury's strange terrain.

Bad Astronomy reviews the presidential candidates' views on science.

Caltech astronomer Mike Brown assures us he's no fan of pseudo science.

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Astrosphere for January 31, 2008

Fraser Cain — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:20:44 +0000

Enough of this cold, wet January. Let's have some cold wet February. Your space photo for the day is this astonishing image of the International Space Station captured by Mike Salway. And here's a bonus. If you follow this link, you'll see two more images.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1. Nancy looked back here on Universe Today, but we're not the only ones to mark the day. Here are a selection of articles from Cosmic Log, Astroprof and Space Politics.

Spirit says, it's a rock. And now you can get the T-shirt.

From Astronomy Picture of the Day comes the Young Cluster Westerlund 2.

Astroblog has Comet Holmes in thrilling stereo.

Daily Galaxy reports on a new strategy to search for wormholes and signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.

If you've got some time on your hands, why not go searching for craters on Mars.

And finally, Visual Astronomy has a video of asteroid 2007 TU24's close approach to the Earth.

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Astrosphere for January 30, 2008

Fraser Cain — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 22:52:42 +0000

Your space photo for today is Saturn, captured by Mike Salway.

In his Cosmic Log, Alan Boyle talks about the state of science in the US after the recent State of the Union speech.

Phil debunks another Moon hoax claim.

Astronomy Picture of the Day has the closest photos of Asteroid 2007 TU24 during its recent flyby.

Ars Technica reports on a new video game based on Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.

SPACE.com has the news of John Benac's attempts to get space exploration policies at the forefront of the new election campaign.

For you southern hemispheroids, the February edition of the Southern Skywatch is up. Thanks to Ian Musgrave for the link.

Future astronauts are going to need to drink, so Colony Worlds has the solution.

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Astrosphere for January 22, 2008

Fraser Cain — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:45:37 +0000

The Lunar News Network is concerned about the potentially faltering plans to return to the Moon, and has some suggestions if you want to take action.

Chris Lintott wonders if the United Kingdom should contribute to the International Space Station.

Centauri Dreams discusses how long it takes Earth to recover from extinction events.

A Mars Odyssey reports on a booming business, in moon dirt.

Have there been UFOs over Texas? I was just in Texas, and would have loved to see UFOs. Anyway, back to the question… no. No aliens. Astroprof gives a much more detailed answer.

Instead of the Moon, some space enthusiasts are suggesting we visit asteroids instead. Personally, I like both ideas.

This isn't exactly space, but it's so well written that I couldn't resist. Pamela Gay talks about the digital divide, and how she's greeted with blank stares when she talks technology with others.

Phil hits the pseudoscientists with a one-two punch. No, asteroid 2007 TU24 isn't going to hit the Earth. And no, that's not bigfoot on the surface of Mars.

Pop quiz. Mercury or the Moon, which is which?

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Astrosphere for January 18, 2007

Fraser Cain — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:22:27 +0000

Your space photo of the day is the recent Earth-grazing asteroid 2008 AF3, captured by RickJ. It looks like a bunch of star streaks, but if you look carefully, there's a dot right in the middle. That's the asteroid that missed us by 370,000 km (230,000 miles).

Are you planning to sign up for Virgin Galactic and take their stomach-churning suborbital trip? Here's an interview on Luxury Magazine with the Head of Astronaut Sales. Tip of the helmet to Space Pragmatism for the link.

Remember yesterday's Bad Astronomy post about not finding ET? Here's some more non-news.

This has nothing to do with astronomy. But a rat as big as a bull? That's just cool.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently gave a speech at NASA, encouraging the agency to be more open and collaborative with the public. Advice I've been trying to give them for years.

A charity auction is removing a trip to space as a price – too dangerous.

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Astrosphere for January 16, 2008

Fraser Cain — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:00:03 +0000

I know it's been a bit of a delay, but I do really enjoy crawling through the interwebs, finding spacey stories. Your photo for the day is M42, captured by tegwilym.

What did I find today?

I reported on MESSENGER's Mercury flyby, but the Planetary Society's Emily Lakdawalla always has the best coverage of these planetary visitations.

While I was writing like a maniac at the American Astronomical Society meeting, rarely leaving the press room to feel the warm Austin air, Pamela was out and about, meeting, greeting and recording audio chats. Here's one with the folks from the Galaxy Zoo.

Pharyngula won best science blog for 2007. And that means Phil didn't. Uh, oh, nobody tell him.

Phil won't notice, he's too busy watching old YouTube video of Shatner singing Rocket Man. Yikes!

Larry Sessions at Earth & Sky Blogs shows you how to measure the Sun.

And finally, Wired Science is reporting that space is a top question posed to presidential candidates. How do you feel about space exploration?

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Astrosphere for December 19th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:02:21 +0000

For your photo today, it's another image of Mars nearing its closest point to the Earth. This one was captured by Efrain Morales Riviera in the forum.

Astronomy in the UK is in deep trouble. The Science & Technology Facilities Council has had their budget slashed by Â£80 million. Find out more and help out here.

Centauri Dreams has more details about the Tunguska research I reported on today. And so does Bad Astronomy.

Here's a great idea: a space exploration reality show, with a group of potential explorers cooped up together on a mock spaceship here on Earth. Okay, maybe it's a terrible idea.

Maybe off-world children will wear gravity suits in the future to simulate living on Earth.

On an administrative note, Pamela and I will be attending the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, TX in January. If you're going drop me a note. We're going to try and organize some kind of meetup for Astronomy Cast.

Several people mentioned this great interview with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson in the Washington Post.

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Astrosphere for December 18, 2007

Fraser Cain — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:21:09 +0000

Your astrophoto of the day is another image of Comet Holmes, captured by John Chumack.
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific has made a series of astronomy lectures available for podcast and download. There are some really cool speakers in there, like Dr. Frank Drake (SETI Institute): "Estimating the Chances of Life Out There".

Sean from Visual Astronomy let me know about his new blog. And so now you know too.

Maybe the space shuttle won't be ending flights so soon after all.

Did you ever wonder how astronauts do their laundry in space? Pamela has the answer.

And if you want to actually see the space station with your own eyes, it's getting brighter with every mission. Visual Astronomy has some suggestions to find it.

Dwayne Day has a great article on the Space Review about his experience at a Richard Hoagland press conference. I highly suggest you read it; it's comedy gold.

Did Uranus and Neptune switch places?

And finally, here are two great lists of the top astrophotos in 2007, from Bad Astronomy and Astronomy Picture of the Day.

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Astrosphere for December 12, 2007

Fraser Cain — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:03:10 +0000

Welcome back to the Astrosphere. Your photograph for today is Eta Carina by winensky. Can you see the dancing lady on the right? I can actually see this one.

Yikes, this giant spider will destroy us all.

Futurismic talks about the future of telescopes, looking right back to the first moments after the dark ages.

For all you Americans wondering who to vote for, ATW Space is keeping careful track of the candidates' policies on space exploration.

Dynamics of Cats responds to a student looking for advice about grad school.

Celestial Journeys always has cool hand-drawn images of astronomical objects – this gives you a really good idea about what you'd see if you actually looked through the eyepiece of a telescope. No CCDs here. Check out Comet Holmes.

Sir Arthur C. Clarke celebrates his 90th birthday on Sunday, December 16th.

Astronomy Picture of the Day has an image of our cosmic neighbourhood of galaxy clusters.

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Astrosphere for December 5th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 19:10:55 +0000

For your astrophoto of the day, please enjoy this great image of the Horsehead Nebula captured by Phil22. I wonder what kind of holiday creature it might look like?

What's your favourite Cassini image for 2007? I know, how could you possibly choose from all those images. Still, now's your chance to vote.

Dilbert is working to build a lunar rocket. Here's Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so far. Thanks to Transterrestrial Musings for catching this one.

Have you heard rumours that the Chinese faked their moon photographs from Chang'e-1? Emily Lakdawalla from the Planetary Society is pretty sure they didn't fake it, and has found examples of Photoshop mistakes that were made trying to build the large image.

Here's a link to a fascinating essay by sci-fi writer Charles Stross about how we'll probably never colonize space.

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Astrosphere for November 28th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:51:23 +0000

For your space photo, here's a cool image captured by Gob332. It's some star trails behind the branch of a tree.

The New York Times has a fascinating look at the space game Eve: Online. When I get tired of World of Warcraft, I'm sure I'll give this a look.

Why explore space? The Bad Astronomer tells you why. Oh, and he's also giving away a book.

When there's private space travel, there'll be space travel agents.

Remember that cool exoskeleton in Aliens? Reality is catching up fast.

Solar? Bio-fuel? Old technology ideas. Check out these cutting edge alternative energy concepts.

Pamela continues to debunk the speculative stories coming out of New Scientist. This time, that there's an alternative universe poking through a void in space.

Chair Force Engineer shares his list of technologies that need to be developed for a spacefaring society.

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Astrosphere for November 27th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:44:14 +0000

First, let me direct your attention to the 30th Carnival of Space, hosted by Bad Astronomy. I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but the Carnival is a great way to increase exposure to your website or blog. If you want more readers, join the carnival.

My absolute favourite television show, Futurama, has a new DVD coming out called Bender's Big Score. If you like the show, give it some support and buy a DVD. You can find out more here from the official website.

Centauri Dreams talks about the past and future of solar sail technology.

Astronomy Picture of the Day has this image of the International Space Station over the Ionian Sea. Just think what it took to capture that image.

Colony Worlds reports on a new technology that could give solar energy the ability to keep on providing power, right through the night.

Astroprof offers you an easy way to find Mars; just look for the Moon. The two objects are close together right now, and easy to find.

Pamela Gay debunks the recent news that observing the Universe will hasten its demise.

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Astrosphere for November 16th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:50:02 +0000

Today's photo is the Moon. Sure, I've shown lots of pictures of the Moon, but this one's lunertic's first astrophoto, and I thought I could help encourage this wonderful hobby. Take more, let's see them.

Space Prizes has some interesting links to the recent 2009 Space Settlement Calendar Art Contest. How come nobody told me about this?

Nancy Houser at A Mars Odyssey has a great two part article about the first African American astronaut: Guion Bluford. Here's part 1 and part 2.

Astronomy Picture of the Day has an image of the Orion Nebula, with a streak through the middle that turned out to be fuel dumped out of a recent rocket launch.

Jeff Foust at Space Politics gives a run down of NASA's Administrator's time in front of a Senate committee. It sounds like an uncomfortable place to be. Keith Cowing from NASA Watch has an opinion on the matter too.

Director of the Planetary Society, Louis Friedman, puts the most recent shuttle mission into perspective. The astronauts had a dangerous job of fixing the station's solar wings, so why wasn't there more press about it?

Pamela Gay translates some astro-gibberish into a really interesting scientific result.

The Angry Astronomer got a great post about the power of Big Sky Surveys.

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Astrosphere for November 15th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:23:20 +0000

Back to the astrosphere. Today's image is M42, captured by Mike Salway. He thinks it's the best one he's ever taken of this complex object.

First, I'd like to announce the Carnival of Space #29. This week it's held at Riding with Robots on the High Frontier. A big thanks to Bill Dunford for hosting it this week. If you'd like to participate in the Carnival of Space, you can email an entry to carnivalofspace@gmail.com. And we'd love to have you as a host. It's a great way to meet other people in the space blogging community and raise awareness to your blog.

We just did an episode of Astronomy Cast about Uranus, and Astronomy.com's blog notes it's William Herschel's birthday. I wish I could claim that was our plan all along.

Alan Boyle lists the winners of the Science Journalism Awards.

Astronomy Picture of the Day has an image of M13, the great globular cluster in Hercules. This is one of my favourite objects in the night sky, and it's something I always show to people in my telescope.

I don't have an easy way to categorize this, but I wanted to draw your attention to the wonderful USA Today's Tech_Space blog, written by Angela Gunn.

Daily Galaxy has a list of 5 things you didn't know satellites were watching.

Personal Spaceflight reports that there's a new space tourism company in town.

Phil Plait gives that recent Earth-rise image taken by Kaguya some context. Now you know the craters the spacecraft is flying over.

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Astrosphere for November 13th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:49:22 +0000

For the photo, enjoy this image of galaxy M33, captured by RickJ.

Now, I'd like to draw your attention to the 28th Carnival of Space, hosted this week by the Planetary Society's Emily Lakdawalla.

We're organizing the next episode of the Carnival of Space, so drop us an entry at carnivalofspace@gmail.com. And we're always looking for new hosts to handle future carnivals.

I want to give you a last minute reminder to watch PBS Nova tonight for Judgment Day, Intelligent Design on Trial. You'll need to check your local listings for time and channel; if you miss it tonight, I'm sure it'll be on several times over the week. You can also watch the entire episode online at the PBS site.

Colony Worls reports on a new partnership between Russia and India for lunar research.

Selenian Boondocks has a great article about thrust augmented nozzles.

Astroprof reviews Sea Launch's return to flight after their recent pad explosion.

The Stars my Destination reminds us that the Leonids are coming. The Leonids are coming!

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Astrosphere for November 6th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:41:25 +0000

For the photo… it's Comet Holmes! I know, a big surprise, but I'm going to keep on hitting you with cool Holmes pics until it starts to fade. This one comes from tegwilym on the forum.

ESA has an interesting article about the different ways they peer at stars through planetary atmospheres.

astropixie Amanda Bauer took these amazing photos from the summit of Hawaii's Mauna Kea, and talks about her experience viewing for Comet Holmes.

Alan Boyle explains why it's hard to know when a volcano is going to explode.

Astronomy.com's blog reviews Brave New Words, the Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction.

A little bit of good news to an otherwise depressing view of global warming. Heat-trapping cirrus clouds may be disappearing as temperatures rise.

In case you missed it, the DARPA Urban Challenge was won by Carnegie Mellon University's SUV, "Boss". I want my robot car!

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Astrosphere for November 5th, 2007

Fraser Cain — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 07:19:55 +0000

First the photo. Take a careful look, and you'll see that Comet Holmes has a tail now. Thanks to RickJ for the amazing photo.

Emily at the Planetary Society Blog has dug up some cool videos of Saturn's moons.

X-Prize founder, Peter Diamandis speaks with Popular Science about the future of the X-Prize Cup.

Colony Worlds has an interesting story about a group of angel investors coming together to pour money into clever ideas for space exploration.
First the picture. Comet Holmes has got a tail! It's not much of a tail, but it's there… Thanks to RickJ for the photo.

Astronomers thought that 10% of the Universe was missing. Oh wait, it's been found.

The 2007 Weblog award nominations have been announced. Once again, Bad Astronomy has been nominated for the best science blog, as well as several others. Vote early, vote often.

Scientific American's 60 Second Science has gotten so popular, all on its own, they've decided to give it a website.

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Astrosphere for October 31st, 2007

Fraser Cain — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:11:57 +0000

Happy Halloween everyone. First up, enjoy a triple view of Comet Holmes, captured by ngc3314.

Of course, Halloween is an excuse to write spooky flavoured press releases. Here's one from NASA's Cassini mission about the spooky sounds of the Saturnian system. And this chilling tale of a meteorite… IT Came From Vesta. Astronomy Picture of the Day focuses on the "Ghost Head Nebula". Cosmic Log's Alan Boyle looks at the science of spooks. And finally, Phil Plait has a terrifying image of, of… well, you'll just have to see for yourself.

Thomas Marquart from Apparent Brightness suggests a trick you can use to pare down your RSS feeds to just get the ones you want. I actually do this to just focus on space-related news.

Have you noticed a bright star in the mornings? That's not a star, that's Venus.

Centauri Dreams reconsiders Gliese 581. It's looking less and less Earthlike every day.

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