Astronomy today is a serious science as well as a hobby enjoyed by many people. From new space objects to new images, from new tools and techniques to new discoveries made with them, from new space missions to reviving and reviewing data from the old ones, keeping up with astronomy can certainly be a full time job. It can also be a lot of fun. So let's take a look at some of the latest and greatest.

Meteors may be a key element of astronomy today on any given day. The last half of 2008 was no different as meteors were certainly on the menu. Meteor swarms such as the Taurids in Leonids were quite active in November. The Gemenids had their peak in mid December, but unfortunately during a full moon phase that would make them difficult to see. Don't fret. Whereas the peak only happens for a short time meteor showers continue for as much as two weeks before and two weeks after the peak. People won't miss these showers.

In 2008 a return to the moon was on people's minds very often in astronomy today. This mission would be undertaken cooperatively by the entire world. The goal may be to establish a moon base or even a colony on the moon. Imagine that. Minus the aliens and hopefully the moon set adrift by an explosion, the TV series “Space 1999� could soon become a reality only 16 years too late.

2008 was a year of a lot of astronomy news. For much of the year many astronomy today columns were filled with news of some space garbage – a colling ammonia tank from the space station. After being thrown into orbit, it was finally about to plummet back to the planet. There was some worry that large chunks would fall, or that some parts would strike in populated areas. The good news is that it all fell into the ocean.

The good old Hubble telescope made the biggest impact in astronomy today. First the telescope was damaged when some instrument control and data formatting modules failed in September. Those were brought back on line in October. Hubble then took the first visible light images of a planet orbiting another star. Talk about a hard year's work.

Astrology today isn't hard to follow. The Internet is a great source for this information.

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