Close Call

Apparently a Pac-man ghost sped by the planet Earth yesterday at a distance of about 334k miles, or about 1.4 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. It is about 250 meters across and was only discovered 3 months ago.

Mercury Flyby

The NASA space probe Messenger took this picture of the planet Mercury during a flyby last Monday. The probe was getting a gravity assist from the planet that will help it achieve its final orbit in 2011.

Missed It!

I forgot yesterday was perihelion day, or the Earth's closest approach to the sun this year. If it seemed a little warmer than usual in the Northern Hemisphere, that may have been why. Note that it was ass-cold in North Texas yesterday.