In case people hadn’t noticed on the news there was a lunar eclipse last night. This is where the Earth blocks the path of the Sun’s rays from falling on the moon apart from the light that filters through the Earth’s atmosphere meaning the moon glows a beautiful copper colour. Clear skies meant we were able to take in the sight easily from outside our house and it certainly was a beautiful sight. I wasn’t able to get any photographs due to the light polution from the streetlamps but the reddish glow makes the moon seem so much more spherical than the serene pale white disc we are used to seeing in our night skies. We are told it was the best eclipse we’ve had in years and having seen it myself I’m very much inclined to agree.

I read with delight on the BBC news website this morning that a rescue mission to renew failing systems and install new instruments to the Hubble space telescope will be going ahead after it was canceled after the space shuttle Columbia disaster. This important for several reasons. Some of the most amazing discoveries have been made about our universe with the help of Hubble and given the rate of these discoveries its entirely possible that there are many more waiting to happen if Hubble is given the chance.

This is of course not to mention that some of the most beautiful images of our universe have come in through its mirror system – images that have left the world in awe. In an attempt to share with you the importance of this rescue mission I’ve uploaded a set of images from Hubble that I feel justifies all the effort being made and some more.

Long live Hubble!

Reading new scientist this week revealed yet another theory that may facilitate that elusive dream of time travel. This time however there may finally be a theory that can eventually be tested on earth. While the technology doesn’t at present exist, it won’t involve black holes, huge rotating cylinders or other such “impossible to simulate” stuff, so it might just be a window of oppertunity. Food for thought anyway; around exam time there seems to be no shortage of people who would love to turn back to clock having had a peek at the paper and put in some extra revision.