Astronomy Today

Scientists study it like never before and many people enjoy astronomy today. Every day something new happens in the world of astronomy to gather the attention of millions of fans worldwide. And it's fun. Let's get right to the newest in astronomy.

Astronomy today on any given day might have news of meteors. 2008 certainly was no different. Meteor swarms such as the Taurids in Leonids were quite active in November. The Gemenids had their peak in mid December, but unfortunately during a full moon phase that would make them difficult to see. Don't fret. Meteor shower peaks may happen during full moons, but meteors are on display for up to two weeks both before and after the peaks. So there's a lot of clear time to view these falling chunks of space debris.

In 2008 a return to the moon was on people's minds very often in astronomy today. The talk is of this as a world wide effort rather something any one country or agency would endeavor to accomplish. The goal may be to establish a moon base or even a colony on the moon. Hard to believe. Minus the aliens and hopefully the moon set adrift by an explosion, the TV series “Space 1999” could soon become a reality only 16 years too late.

Astronomy today in 2008 often included worries over falling space debris in the form of a discarded ammonia tank. Its long orbit had finally decayed to the point it would fall to Earth. Some people were concerned that pieces might fall into populated areas. But it broke up into very small pieces which mostly fell into the ocean near Australia.

Hubble was probably the biggest news in astronomy today in 2008. First the telescope was damaged when some instrument control and data formatting modules failed in September. Those were brought back on line in October. Then the Hubble took the first ever visible light image of a planet orbiting another star. What a busy year for one piece of technology.

Astrology today is more vibrant than ever. Get the news online.