Resembling Our Moon, And With A Similar Atmosphere, Mercury Has Enough Activity In Its Interior To Generate

Comet lander Philae wakes up: How it happened and what’s next

By Lauren Raab

Philae, the first spacecraft to land on a comet, surprised and delighted scientists this weekend by waking up and reestablishing contact with Earth, seven months after running out of power. It “spoke” for more than a minute, according to the European Space Agency, and it’s expected to be able to continue gathering information and sending it home.

Here’s a look at what the lander has done so far and what will happen next.

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Inside - Vadim Sadovski

Two comets pass in the night bound for your telescope

Remember comets Lovejoy and C/2012 X1 LINEAR? We dropped in on them in late January. On Feb. 6 the two cruised within  2 degrees of each other as they tracked through Ophiuchus before dawn.  Were it not for bad weather, astrophotographer Damian Peach would have been out to record the cometary conjunction, but this unique photo, taken two mornings later, shows the two comets chasing each other across the sky. Of course they’re not really following one another, nor are they related,  but the illusion is wonderful.

Image credit & copyright: Damian Peach

Ham Radio, 1940s

Pre-Winter Storm, Southwestern Australia in 2014

Credit: NASA / ISS

Blackmagic URSA 4K Digital Cinema Camera

And now that one special, prestigious piece of gear has finally arrived to round off the years of camera development and take you to the vertiginous peaks of unbelievable footage quality and extreme equipment versatility: the recently released Blackmagic URSA 4K Digital Cinema Camera is the ultimate camera for professional film crews and keen solo cameramen looking to revolutionize their filming sessions.

Morehouse’s Comet, photographed in stereograph in 1908 or shortly thereafter. It is not known whether this comet has a closed-loop orbit, but if it does it will not return to earth for millions of years.