There can be only one science story this week, and it's got to be the imminent crashing of a US satellite. Apparently, they're unable to predict exactly where, or when, but say "Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the threat ... we are looking at potential options to mitigate any damage this satellite may cause". I'm not sure who is in charge of the UK Department for Satellite Damage Limitation, but I'm hoping they're at the top of their game, particularly since the US is unwilling to tell people exactly what kind of debris we might be dealing with, hazardous or not.
It's suspected to land in late February, but what with that pesky rotation of the earth, it's difficult to say where. It's not the first time this has happened. In 1979, a 78 ton NASA station fell over Australia, and a San Francisco newspaper offered $10,000 for anyone who could bring in a piece of the debris. The prize was collected by an Australian man, who found a piece in his guttering and flew to the US to present it to the newspaper.
[via The Guardian]
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I will not be happy if it lands in my guttering
Satellite positions are described as the longitude of the place
on the equator that the satellite hovers above. 19e means 19.2
degrees east, which finds some Astra satellites about 35000km
above the Congo basin, with many FTA German broadcasts.