Hello everybody!

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

Space Station 3D - film review
A Select Few Have Been Aboard... Now It's Your Turn! It's "Space Station 3D" and in IMAX it may be the closest you ever get to seeing Earth from space. It's not a new film, but worth seeing if you can.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35520.asp

*It's Clyde Tombaugh's birthday*

The discoverer of Pluto and a number of asteroids was born on February 4, 1906. The reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet in no way diminishes his great work. Finding such a tiny object at such a great distance was a tremendous feat of meticulous observational work. Tombaugh died on January 17, 1997. An ounce of his ashes ashes are on the New Horizons probe which is headed for Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

Here is more about Pluto and the Kuiper Belt:

“Pluto” http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art34315.asp
“Pluto is a Dwarf Planet” http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art45809.asp
“The Kuiper Belt” http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art40059.asp

The New Horizons team is launching a petition for a commemorative stamp to celebrate the mission. It won't arrive at Pluto for another three years, but apparently it takes that long for deliberations about new stamps. You can see a proposed design for such a stamp and there is a link to the petition here: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/news_center/news/20120201.php

I wish you clear skies.  Please visit astronomy.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Astronomy.

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

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.

Mona Evans,
Astronomy Editor BellaOnline
.