The Opening ceremony of the International Year of Astronomy will take place in Paris, January 15-16, 2009, under the aegis of the UN, the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and the IAU (International Astronomical Union).

You can find the program (and live streaming) of the conference here, and more information on project, activities and events organised in the framework of the IYA here.

The Fermi satellite has discovered 12 new gamma-ray-only pulsars. You can find more information on the NASA website , or read the corresponding Symmetry Breaking Blog entry.

From the website of the European Space Agency:

“This satellite image, acquired by Envisat’s Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument on 7 January 2009, shows most of central and northern France covered by a white layer of snow, while regions closer to the Atlantic coast remain largely snow free. Towards the upper right Paris can just be seen under the cloud layer at the top edge of the image.

Credits: ESA”

“You will not apply my precept,” he said, shaking his head. “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes – The Sign of Four, Ch. 6]

Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States.