Astrosphere for August 17, 2007

2007-0817swan.thumbnail-2.jpg

Welcome back to your friendly astrosphere.

This week, the photograph is of the Swan nebula, captured by seeker372011. It was made using an ED80 telescope on a CG5 mount. A Canon 300D DSLR camera. It's a composite picture taken over the course of 190 minutes, shot over two Saturday nights in August.

And for the stories...

If you've got an old satellite dish, you could turn it into a garden gazebo,

like these guys

. Thanks to

Really Rocket Science

for the tip.

Did you know the rabbit fence in Australia is actually affecting its climate? Check out this

New York Times article

for the details. Thanks to

Earth & Sky Blogs

for the tip.

Spaceref has news that the National Academy of Sciences will be looking

50 years in the future of space science

.

On his Cosmic Log, Alan Boyle investigates claims from a Spanish company that recently announced

they'll be launching a space hotel by 2012

.

NASA updates its climate data, correcting a mistake, and the global warming deniers go bonkers. My Wired Science teammate Brandon Keim has a

great look at the controversy

.

And finally, the 16th Carnival of Space has been posted live over at the

advanced nanotechnology blog

.

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain

Fraser Cain is the publisher of Universe Today, founding the website in March 1999. He's also the co-host of Astronomy Cast.