Scientists monitoring NASA's Swift satellite had a good view of Deep Impact's collision with Comet Tempel 1. Although the space-based observatory was designed to watch for gamma ray bursts, its instruments were handy for this observation since it can see in several wavelengths at the same time. One of its most important observations from the impact is a quick rise in ultraviolet light. This means that the impactor struck a hard surface, as opposed to something soft and snowy.

The European Space Agency is helping Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard construct a solar powered airplane that will fly around the world in 2010. Piccard made the first non-stop flight around the world in a balloon in 1999 with Brian Jones from Britain. When they make their attempt, the Solar Impulse will be flown by three pilots in shifts, and travel along the equator to maximize the Sun's energy.

NASA/ESA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, the most successful comet hunter in history, is expected to discover its 1,000th comet this summer. In fact, half of all comets ever discovered can be attributed to SOHO. This is because many comets close to the Sun were once part of an enormous comet that was broken up. SOHO can resolve chunks as small as the size of a house as they blaze up near the surface of the Sun. Many of SOHO's comets have been discovered by observers through the Internet.

Scientists at the University of Maryland think that large quantities of artificial meat could be produced to supply the world with animal-free meat products, like chickenless nuggets. This is based on experiments for NASA, that created small amounts of muscle fibre cultured from single cells. According to the researchers, larger quantities could be grown in thin sheets and then stacked up to create thickness. Of course, they need to figure out a way to exercise it to make it taste like regular meat.

Ah, summer. Long relaxing days spent at the lake, just swimming, fishing, and enjoying the scenery. Think you can only enjoy lakes here on Earth? Well, think again. NASA's Cassini spacecraft might have turned up a lake on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. It might not be the kind of lake you're used to though. The average temperature on Titan is only a hundred degrees above Absolute Zero, so it's probably a lake of liquid hydrocarbons. Carolyn Porco is the leader on the imaging team on the Cassini mission to Saturn and the director for the Center of Imaging Operations at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado. That's where the images from Cassini are processed and released to the public.

When Deep Impact's impactor spacecraft smashed into Comet Tempel 1, the two objects collided at a speed of 10 km/s (6.3 miles/s). The force of this collision generated a tremendous amount of heat and light which served to illuminate the whole area for the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft. The impactor spacecraft was able to capture images of Tempel 1 as it approached, and the last image was taken at an altitude of only 30 km (19 miles).

What is the nature of the Universe in which we live? This is probably one of the most profound questions human beings can ask. And for the majority of human history, that question could only find answers in philosophy or religion; we lacked the tools to look deeply into the cosmos, to see what was going on. Enter the Big Bang, a theory of the Universe where everything began from a single point, and has been rapidly expanding ever since. In his latest book, Big Bang, Simon Singh explores the history and series of discoveries that have led astronomers and theorists to our current understanding of our place in an expanding Universe.

NASA's Deep Impact mission completed its primary goal July 4th, when its impactor spacecraft smashed into Comet Tempel 1. NASA scientists are eagerly reviewing the impact data captured by the flyby spacecraft to learn what size crater was excavated, and the kind of material ejected into space. The 373 kg (820 lb) copper impactor crossed paths with Tempel 1 right on schedule, at 0552 UTC (1:52 am EDT). More than 60 observatories on Earth and in space were on hand to watch the collision and help gather data. As expected, Comet Tempel 1 was entirely unfazed by the impact, and hasn't changed its orbit in any detectable way.

It always happens. You go to buy something. You've got a list of all the necessary parameters, you've set a budget and you've short listed the merchants. Then you end up back at home with a really neat gizmo that looks sharp, costs way too much and doesn't really do what you need. Emotions are to blame as they take over your reasoning and lead you on a completely unexpected journey. Simon Mitton shows similar a similar rational for Fred Hoyle in his biography Conflict in the Cosmos, Fred Hoyle's Life in Science. In it is a very storied career that sometimes proceeds in expected directions while other times progresses along wholly inexplicable paths.

Astronomers have found an extrasolar planet that contains the largest core ever seen in a planet. This planet orbits the Sun-like star HD 149026, is roughly the size of Saturn, and takes only 2.87 days to complete its year. The planet was first discovered by the effect of its gravity around its parent star. Astronomers were then fortunate to detect how much it dims the light from the star as it passes in front. From this information, they were able to measure the planet's size, and calculate the size of its core. This discovery adds evidence to the "core accretion" theory of planetary formation, where planets start as balls of rock and ice, and collect a gas envelope around themselves.

The powerful Hubble Space Telescope was on hand to watch the collision between Deep Impact and Comet Tempel 1. Even though Hubble is one of the most sensitive telescopes available, the shroud of dust and gas surrounding Tempel 1 obscures a view of the comet's nucleus. Hubble was able to see the flash from the impact, making the comet 4 times as bright, and then an expanding fan of debris moving away from the comet.

Greetings, fellow SkyWatchers! The big news is Deep Impact, and while we're waiting we'll view the "Cat's Eye". With New Moon this week, there will be plenty of opportunities to check out the cometary action as well as some very unusual star clusters. As the week ends, be sure to enjoy the picturesque twilight as the Moon returns to join the planetary show. It's time to open your eyes to the skies, because...

Here's what's up!

NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft released its impactor "probe" Sunday morning, and changed its trajectory to pass a comfortable distance from Comet Tempel 1. When it was released, the impactor was 880,000 km (547,000 miles) away from Tempel 1. After releasing the impactor, Deep Impact began firing its engine for 14 minutes, which slowed down, and kept it out of the path of the onrushing comet. If all goes well, the impactor will strike Tempel 1 on Monday, July 4 at 0652 UTC (1:52 am EDT).

This year NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) has selected a dozen new-fangled ideas that could lead to revolutionary changes in the way we explore the near and far solar system. Among these advanced concepts was a proposal headed up by Dr. Gerald A. Smith, of Positronics Research LLC, Santa Fe, N.M. whose "Positron-propelled and Powered Space Transport Vehicle for Planetary Missions" could lead to the kind of high-efficiency propulsion systems needed to get there and back without having to cart vast quantities of chemically-based fuel and oxidizer along for the ride.

University of Chicago researcher Nicolas Dauphas has developed a new method to calculate the age of the Milky Way by measuring two long-lived radioactive elements in meteorites. By calculating the amount of uranium-238 and thorium-232, Dauphas determined that the Milky Way is approximately 14.5 billion years old, give or take 2 billion. This is a close match for the age of the Universe, calculated to be 13.7 billion years by NASA's WMAP spacecraft. This means that it probably didn't take much time after the Big Bang for large structures, such as the Milky Way, to form.