Interesting Facts

Astronomers in Belgium have dedicated a constellation to David Bowie. (The constellation will be called Starman, as it is made up of seven stars that, when connected, form the iconic lightning bolt seen on the cover of Bowie's Aladdin Sane album. Appropriately the seven stars — Sigma Librae, Spica, Alpha Virginis, Zeta Centauri, SAA 204 132, and the Beta Sigma Octantis Trianguli Australis, form the newly named constellation in the vicinity of Mars.)

According to the Royal Mail in the UK, a letter to Mars would require 18,416 first-class stamps. (Royal Mail contacted NASA after 5-year-old Oliver Giddings asked the Royal Mail how much it would cost to post a letter to the red planet. The answer came back with a cost of £11,602.25  US$18,003.40. Of course Royal Mail then added the £2.25 (US$3.40) to send the letter from Britain to NASA in Florida.)

Astronomers have worked out that there is a miniscule chance that Venus or Mars could collide with Earth. (Luckily they also figured it won't happen for at least a billion years, although if you're reading this in a billion years time, that's probably not much comfort.) PS - Joe Breezer was well ahead of them all:- I'm lost in space What a perfect place Two worlds collide Into the stars I'm lost in space Without a trace Two worlds collide Like Venus and Mars

The moon Phobos, which orbits the planet mars, is shaped like a potato. (Who knows? It might even be a potato, after all we've never been there.)