Just like Tommy Lee Jones in the movie Space Cowboys, scientists are hoping to land astronauts on asteroid 2000SG344 so that they can study it; they will then piggy back the asteroid back to earth.

While it is not expected that it will actually strike the earth, it will sail perilously close enough to warrant intense surveillance. Bit worrying eh?

But I wonder.

Take  look at Neil Armstrong - in his eighties; John Glenn - also in his late eighties and Buzz Aldrin who is aged 77. They are still alive and kicking. No sign of cancer there guys!

Not only this but they are all still active, involved and making big bucks on the lecture circuit. If anything I’d say going into outer space enhances longevity.

Certainly not the men in my house!

It is strange; whenever something needs to be done around the place it gets done so long as Dr Who is not being broadcast on the television. Once this show starts, girls, forget about gaining your mans attention for the next hour or so. No matter what you do, no matter how you look or dress - if the Doctor is on the television you can forget about everything until the show is finished.

Forget about dressing up as a naughty schoolgirl or naughty nurse…don the robes of Dr Who and you just might get a response!

Now granted, those keen enough to spend the £50,000 per ticket will only be able to fly 37 miles above the earth but it will fly at twice the speed of sound and will offer those onboard the viewing spectacular of a lifetime. Ordinary, albeit wealthy, people will be able to see the earth as people like Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have also done.

You have to admit it would be an amazing experience, but I am not too sure I would be brave enough to do it. I like the earth from this perspective - on the ground.

Now granted, those keen enough to spend the £50,000 per ticket will only be able to fly 37 miles above the earth but it will fly at twice the speed of sound and will offer those onboard the viewing spectacular of a lifetime. Ordinary, albeit wealthy, people will be able to see the earth as people like Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have also done.

You have to admit it would be an amazing experience, but I am not too sure I would be brave enough to do it. I like the earth from this perspective - on the ground.

But that is what happened when a meteorite fell from space and landed in north-west Scotland 1.2 billion years ago. Actually the tourist resort of Ullapool stands right in the middle of the crater! thousands of tourists visit this spot each year to view the unusual rock formations.  Academics from Aberdeen and Oxford universities are convinced it was a meteorite that caused the highly unusual rock formations along a 30-mile stretch of coastline.

Previously, it was thought the intricate deposits of brightly coloured and rare minerals found on the Stoer Peninsula were created by volcanic activity. But geologists who spent two years studying tiny samples of rock from the mountain Stac Fada believe they have identified fragments of meteorite.  They say the centre of the crater would be where Ullapool now stands.

Space rubble, including meteorites, left over from the creation of the solar system has been landing on Earth for billions of years. Let’s just hope that earth has seen the last of the really big ones for now!

This could be great news for the human race to know that if we destroy this planet any further we might have alternative to go to.  Because it is so close, Alpha Centauri would probably be the first star system to be visited if interstellar travel ever becomes possible - a fact that has inspired numerous science fiction stories.  The three stars in the system are binary twins Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B and the much smaller and dimmer red dwarf, Proxima Centauri, which is a little nearer the Earth.

Anyone standing on a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B would see two “suns” in the sky, a bright “primary” sun and a “secondary” sun which would be much weaker but still many times brighter than the full moon as seen from Earth.  Although Proxima Centauri is considered part of the same star system it is 0.21 light years from the other stars, or 13,000 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun. It would only be visible at night.

Robots could also become terrorist’s weapon of choice in the future. And the thing is the technology is already out there and being used and it will be fairly easy to copy. How long is it going to be before the terrorists get in on the act? Over 4,000 robots are currently deployed on the ground in Iraq and by October 2006 unmanned aircraft had flown 400,000 flight hours.  At the moment, humans can make the decision whether to attack or not but a recent policy shift in the U.S means that ‘intelligent’ autonomous attack robots will soon be given the power to decide who and when to kill.

Sounds very chilling to me. Smart robots without any feelings…you could write a Hollywood script about that.

Scientists have found that that fish actually do possess some intellect…even mathematical skill and that they can even count up to four!  Previously it was thought fish could only tell the difference between big and small shoals.  But research by the University of Padua in Italy showed that male and female mosquitofish - one of the world’s most common freshwater fish - could differentiate up to four, similar maths skills to those observed in apes, monkeys and dolphins.

The study, detailed on the BBC Worldwide’s natural history website www.Loveearth.com, relied on the tendency of female mosquitofish to form shoals up to 20 strong when harassed by a male.  A test gave the fish the option of joining shoals of between two and four fish.  The females consistently went for the biggest shoal, preferring three fish to two and four fish to three.

Though they were unable to count beyond four, other tests showed that the females coul distinguish between larger numbers - but only if the difference was two-to-one.  They could distinguish between a shoal of 16 compared to eight but not between a shoal of 12 compared to eight.

This puts them on a par with the numerical abilities of monkeys and human infants between six and 12 months-old. Personally, I know a few adults who cannot count as well!

It is called a snakehead and is acknowledged as being deadlier than the piranha - now thats saying something! I’ve placed a little link there for you to follow and have a look at it - horrible!!

These fish are known only to inhabit and terrorise other sea creatures in the warm waters of south-east Asia, so what on earth it is doing swimming around in the freezing cold waters off the coast of England is a mystery. Maybe it could have been smuggled and dumped in the sea - god nows many people are hoping that this little guy is the only one there.

Sort of gives new meaning to the phrase - I feel a fish biting!

I certainly hope not!!