Astrosphere for February 19, 2008

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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

.

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.