Mars Phoenix official news site is worth keeping an eye on for more info on the fun at Mars' North pole.

First time I've tried to photograph a total eclipse of the moon... and am reasonably content with the results. It wasn't even too cold tonight.

I remember more dramatic ones when the moon was low in the sky. One when I was about 7 or 8 years old, one when I was hitchhiking home from England at the end of the summer holidays while a student and was in a truck travelling along the A75 when we stopped at a lay by with the most amazing view of the moon over a Scottish bay at about 4 in the morning.

This was nice, though, and at a much more civilised time!

From spaceweather.com:

Solar activity doesn't get much lower than it is today: There are no sunspots, no coronal holes and no solar wind streams heading toward Earth. Furthermore, the sun's x-ray glow is at its dimmest. It's just a quiet day on the sun.

It's always darkest just before the dawn - let's hope this heralds the impending start of Cycle 24.

www.plutoisaplanet.com.

Europe's first moon mission has impacted successfully - see ESA's take on it and the BBC's.

Smashtastic!

73% of 2,500+ BBC Magazine readers who responded think Uranus is now the outermost planet. Ohmigod!

Pluto isn't a planet anymore! What is the world coming to? Another childhood icon shattered. Besides, I always thought Ceres should be promoted to its rightful place.

And having a planet Xena and a moon Gabrielle was a good idea too.