Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Finally it's official: Cassini's mission extended for at least two years!

Everyone expected it - and planned the next moves under this assumption - but only today NASA has notified the Cassini team that the Saturn orbiter mission can continue for $80m p.a. until mid-2010: Otherwise it would have ended this July! Phew ...

In other news GRB 080319B has provided the best-ever afterglow spectrum of all gamma-ray bursts. • Here are images of SN 2008ax in NGC 4490 and Nova Cyg 2008 #2 which is currently at 8th mag. • Without ever getting an AR number, a tiny sunspot from the 24th cycle has disappeared today.

• The Beehive occultation by a fat Moon was hard to catch. • The Moon at very high resolution: How much magnification is best? • The ISS crossing the Sun (and another video, plus a newly analyzed February ISS image). • Near-Earth space is crowded with satellites ...

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