A US Iridium communications satellite and a non-operational Russian (Cosmos 2251) satellite collided 490 ft above the earth over Siberia Tuesday causing a large debris field in space.

Although it is believed that the International Space Station is not in danger of interacting with the debris field, NASA is keeping a wide-open-eye on the situation in case smaller satellites may be compromised. All of the debris should eventually burn up in our atmosphere. Only three smaller satellites have ever suffered the same fate.

In December, The Boston Globe ran this excellent review of Endeavor Shuttle Mission’s STS-123 return to Earth and the successful roundtrip of STS-126. The article chronicles an entire nine month process in an expertly written and photographed journey and is a complete diary of NASA’s success in Endeavor’s 2008 shuttle activity.  We thank Alan Taylor for bringing us into “The Big Picture” with The Boston Globe.

Launched February 4, 2009 aboard a Delta II 7320-10C Space Launch Vehicle, this is the last in the TIROS group (Television Infrared Observation Satellite Series).

NOAA-N Prime satellites contain seven scientific instruments in addition to two search and rescue instruments and a data recording system and is dedicated to reporting our home planet’s weather and ever changing environment for the last 50 years. Its aim is to improve worldwide weather forecasting.

Pluto supporters will have another chance to plead the evicted dwarf planet’s case this year. Mark Sykes, Director of Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, will attend this year’s meeting of the IAU in Rio de Janeiro.

Will this year’s conference reunion vote to reinstate Pluto and in doing so, add a few extra planetary members (Ceres, Eris and Charon - Pluto’s diminuitive moon) to our Solar System? Read more …

Update February 19, 2009:  Comet Lulin is near Spica right now and next week may be observed near Saturn.  Wish for clear skies this weekend !

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If you’re looking for another observing object you should check out Comet Lulin this week. It is about magnitude 6.5, visible with binoculars or telescope in the early in the morning hours before sunrise, slightly “north” of the head of Scorpius.  The comet will be at its closest to us and a highly visible 5th magnitude object on February 24. Read more …

Ever wonder where the Shuttle Fleet Orbiters get their names? “Discovery” holds a long standing tradition in historical exploration.In 1610 the English navigator Henry Hudson explored what is now Hudson bay and discovered the Northwest passage through what is now known as the Hudson Strait to the Pacific. His ship? The Discovery.

Hudson’s Discovery.    

James Cook, another talented English sailor of Scottish decent of Great Britain’s Royal Navy sailed on a ship called Endeavor. The Sister Ship was the Discovery. We should also mention that while in Tahiti he observed and documented Venus’s transit of the sun, calculations of which aided scientists to determine the distance from our planet to our sun. Cook’s Discovery.

Our Shuttle carrier Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit in April 1990 during mission STS-31 and provided service to Hubble during missions STS-82 in February 1997 and STS-103 in December 1999. Discovery’s first mission was on August 30, 1984 to deploy communications satellites. Safety modifications and upgrades were added in September 2002. Discovery’s next launch date will be around February 19, 2009 (stay tuned for updates!) with mission STS-119 delivering the last set of solar power arrays and truss segment to the International Space Station in preparation of a six member crew. Who will be the fortunate crew of seven to journey aboard Discovery? Commander Lee Archambault and Pilot Tony Antonelli will accompany Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, John Phillips, Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata, who will replace Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus.Flight Engineer Wakata will return to Earth with the STS-127 crew scheduled in May 2009.

NASA’s Discovery.

Iran has successfully launched a test rocket from an undisclosed desert location in anticipation of its low-orbit satellite project planned for next month.

Iran’s satellite programme may have begun in October 2005 with an Iranian satellite (called Sina-1) carrying telecommunications and photographic equipment launched into space onboard a Russian rocket. Iran also claims sending a rocket into space in Febrary 2007. Read more …

Martin Benson sent us in this photo of Jupiter, Venus and the Moon aligned to make up a smiley face. This delightful image was taken from Martin’s driveway in Logan all the way over in Queensland, Australia at 7.30pm EST on December 1st 2008. While astrophotography may seem to be the preserve of experts with sophisticated equipment Martin told us that his image “was taken on my Nokia N95 mobile phone 5 megapixel camera” and that he “was surprised at the result as it is the first photo of any kind I have taken of the night sky.” Well done Martin!

A wealth of astrophotography can be found on this site and throughout the internet but there is another way to be creative with astronomical imagery: space art. Talented individuals produce artistic renderings of everything the cosmos has to offer. This is a genre of art informed both by science and imagination, capable of challenging our perceptions of the Universe. For more, you can read: Michael Carroll’s full article on Space Art

A while back Lydia interviewed Guy Ottewell, an astronomy author whose Astronomical Calendar has helped her to plan out our Sky Guide. Well, we have organised with Guy’s publisher to offer the following which we hope you’ll enjoy:

Any purchase that includes the promo code AST99 will receive free ground shipping now until March 31, 2009. This promotion includes all six of Guy Ottewell’s astronomy titles:

• 2009 Astronomical Calendar
• The Astronomical Companion
• The Under-Standing of Eclipses
• To Know The Stars
• Albedo to Zodiac
• The Thousand Yard Model

You can order here at Universal Workshop.
Read more …