“Prof. Freeman Dyson advanced the idea that genetically engineered trees could be planted on comets and grow to such size that their foliage could sustain photosynthesis even at the distances from the Sun of the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud. “
The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on the night of January 3rd/4th, and will be well seen this year, with no moonlight to spoil it.
Duncan Lunan continues his exploration of Comets
“The astronomical highlight of 1066 was the return of Halley’s Comet”
“Nicolas Blanco of the Universidad Santo Tomás in Santiago, Chile, found slabs made of glassy material up to half a metre across”
‘The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes’ (H6003; Julius Caesar, Act II Scene 2)
The largest comet ever discovered, was active long before previously thought.
“The Geminid meteor shower from the mysterious asteroid Phaeton (the only one of its kind) begins on December 3rd and peaks on the night of December 13th/14th, and will be best seen after midnight, once the Moon is down.”
The eta Aquarid meteor shower from Halley’s Comet peaks on 5th to 6th May, but moonlight will spoil it this year.
On this day in 1785 Caroline Herschel became the first woman to discover a comet…….
