A slice of nostalgia for your Sunday afternoon: friend of DCist John Ulaszek sent Look Up this great copy of an old Weekly Reader magazine he dug up a couple weeks ago. The cover features the upcoming launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia on Mission STS-2 -- the second launch in the brand new space shuttle program and also the second launch for Columbia, with a crew of just two. As often happens, the launch was delayed twice and eventually went up on November 12, 1981, where the crew tested new capabilities, including the Remote Manipulator System, or as most of us call it, the CanadArm. Still working out the kinks, STS-2 was cut short when a fuel cell failed, and landed a little over two days after lift-off; this brings to mind the many NASA officials and supporters who've been saying over the past year that we're cutting the shuttle program right when we started getting really good at it. more ›

Once these pesky rainclouds clear out -- they should by Wednesday -- take a minute to enjoy a fantastic show at dusk. Venus and Mercury, the two planets closer to the Sun than Earth, are both visible about a half an hour after sunset right now. Sky and Telescope has a good visual, with Mercury trailing Venus to the lower right in the western sky. Wait until next Saturday to see them closest together in the sky. more ›

If you get goosebumps watching Ovechkin vs. Crosby, LeBron vs. Kobe, or Tiger Woods vs. everyone else, give this matchup a try: Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury vs. Alana Beard of the Washington Mystics, both first round picks in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi’s Mercury - the highest scoring team in the WNBA - held on in the final seconds of the fourth quarter Thursday to win over the Mystics, 93-87. more ›