#79 - January 2019 Part 2

The Discussion: As 2019 marches forth we discuss a wasted year of
practical astronomy due to bad weather, a comet in our skies to
enjoy and Jeni begins her first paper on gas masses in redshift
galaxies.


The News: Rounding up the space exploration news this month we
have:


An update on the mysterious hole in the space station

SpaceX edges closer to ferrying humans to space

Virgin Galactic test pilot gains his astronaut wings

Voyager 2 joins Voyager 1 outside the solar system

New Horizons exploring the outer solar system

An update on NASA’s plans for human space exploration.



Main news story: Chinese exploration of the far side of the moon.


Q&A: Listeners’ questions via email, Facebook & Twitter
take us on a journey into the astronomy issues that have always
plagued our understanding or stretched our credulity. This month
we take a look at how to get a 450 ton space ship out of orbit:


How will the International Space Station be decommissioned? Andy
Burns, UK.


The Debate: Lt Col Dave from Florida suggests a debate on which
option is better for astronomy: space or Earth based telescopes?
Paul & Ralph do battle.