Asteroid Will Pass Near to Earth.

Astronomers are predicting that an asteroid 300 metres across will pass only 830,000 kilometres away from the Earth - this sounds far, but it's pretty close in cosmic terms. asteroid 2001 YB5 was only discovered in early December by the NEAT (Near Earth asteroid Tracking), and it orbits the Sun every 1,321 days. Although it won't hit us this time, Astronomers feel that it's potentially hazardous, and could strike the Earth in the future causing tremendous damage.

Officials from the Russian Space Agency announced this week that space tourist Mark Shuttleworth will launch to the International Space Station on April 20th. Shuttleworth will join Russian commander Yuri Gidzenko and Italian engineer Roberto Vittori in a Russian Soyuz capsule and launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Even though he spent $20 million for the chance to go into space, Shuttleworth will be considered a member of the crew and will have responsibilities on the mission.

Astronomers using one of the world's largest telescopes, the Keck II telescope in Hawaii, have gained a powerful new tool to observe the heavens. Using a laser, Astronomers can create a virtual star in the sky to calibrate the adaptive optics system of the Keck II, which removes the distortion of the Earth's atmosphere and greatly enhances the quality of any photos taken with the telescope.