And now the science bit..

Comet Lulin

Nasa will meet tomorrow to decide whether to set a new launch date for Space Shuttle Mission STS-119, postponed again, this time due to valve problems. They’re also trying to figure out why the launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory failed to reach, erm, orbit – it’s believed to have crashed into the ocean near the Antarctic. Fingers crossed, then, for the Kepler mission – A Search for Habitable Planets – due to launch on March 5. Named in honour of Johannes Kepler, 2009 being the International Year of Astronomy.. Btw, Comet Lulin might still be visible to the naked eye tonight just past its closest approach to Earth – image here. Space Weather has more. Image credit: Phillip Jones. Telescopes, eh?


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