Hi everybody

Here's the latest article from the Astronomy site at BellaOnline.com.

Solar System - Our Neighborhood
Come tour the Solar System. It's our neighborhood, the star system in which we live. The Sun's gravity holds it all together - planets, dwarf planets, moons, asteroids, comets, Kuiper Belt objects. See what lies between the Sun and the farthest edge of the Oort Cloud.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art179147.asp

*Anniversaries*

(1) Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the dwarf planet Ceres on New Year's Day 1801. It was actually accepted as a planet for many decades, then an asteroid, now a dwarf planet. To read more about it: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art2172.asp

(2) Isaac Asimov was born on January 2, 1920. He is one of my favorite science fiction writers, but he also wrote about many topics, including astronomy. Strangely, the man who described so many flights to other worlds had a fear of flying and went to great lengths to avoid it.

(3) Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. He is probably the best known scientist in the world since Einstein. In addition to his work on black holes, he has co-authored with his daughter Lucy Hawking a series of astronomy-themed adventures for children. I have reviews of the first two here: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35056.asp and here: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art178295.asp

*What's up in January?*
The Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) can tell you what's interesting in the January sky. You'll get a choice of movie formats or you can download a transcript. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.php?id=1178

For a variety of astronomy images, follow me on Pinterest at: http://pinterest.com/astrobella/

To participate in online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Astronomy located here - http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=323

Please visit astronomy.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Astronomy.

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I welcome your feedback!

Do pass this message along to family and friends who might also be interested. Remember it's free and without obligation.

I wish you clear skies.

Mona Evans,
Astronomy Editor

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