Astronomers look for near-Earth objects - Yahoo! News

There's some recent good news too: Earth's most pressing threat — the asteroid 99942 Apophis — appears to have eased. Scientists initially gave it a 1-in-5,500 chance of hitting the planet in 2036, with enough power to wipe out the New York City metro area. But experts said Thursday the latest observations suggest those odds have dwindled to 1-in-30,000.

*giggles*  Anyone else find it hysterical that they'd name all the planets and moons in the solar system after Roman mythological figures (the sole exception being solar object UB313, which has been lovingly nicknamed "Xena"), but name an asteroid with the Greek word for the Egyptian god Apep?  Especially one with a possible interest in "destroying Earth"...

In other interesting astronomical news, check out Solar system expands as astronomers redefine planets - Yahoo! News.  So much for My Very Elegant Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas!  With 12 planets in the system, we'll have to come up with some other clever mnemonic device.  My Very Entertaining Mother, Claire, Just Sent Us Nine Polished Chrome Xylophones?  Tell me yours!