Bringing the Universe to Earth

A little over five years ago the Huygens probe detached from the Cassini spacecraft and began its journey toward Titan. A few weeks later the probe descended through the Titan atmosphere for a couple of hours and eventually landed gently on the moon's surface.

The Messenger mission in conjunction with the USGS has released an updated composite map of the surface of Mercury.

The recent hacking of climate scientist's email accounts and the subsequent furore in the media would suggest it is a new phenomenon. In fact it isn't. The whole history of science is littered with cases of data abuse and misuse, as well sabotage and devious machinations.

Astronomers from Jodrell Bank and Cardiff University today revealed a new way for members of the public to explore the galaxy. Their online tool, Chromoscope, allows anyone to view the Milky Way and the distant Universe more easily than ever before. The site shows the sky in a range of wavelengths, from X-rays through to the longest radio waves.

A full press release is on the .Astronomy website, while the application itself can be found at http://www.chromoscope.net/