Comet Spotted Over New York City: VIDEO

The comet PanSTARRS, which should be visible to the naked eye in the Northern hemisphere through the end of March, was captured on camera from the roof of the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan, looking across the Hudson River at New Jersey.

Also, check out an awesome time-lapse of the comet and the moon put together by photographer Dan Finnerty, observing from Altadena, California on Tuesday.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

SpaceX Rocket Grasshopper Takes a Big Leap: VIDEO

SpaceX's experimental rocket Grasshopper, which can take off, hover, and land, reached a milestone this week, doubling its highest leap to date (24 stories or 80.1 meters (262.8 feet), hovering for approximately 34 seconds and landing safely). And this time it even had a lil man (Johnny Cash?) aboard.

Watch its "Ring of Fire" video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1315

JOHN BOEHNER: Getting testy about the sequester.

BUTTER CANDLES: Not the prettiest things, but who knew?

SCIENCECAST: NASA looks at the origin and make-up of the Russian meteor.

MARRIAGE NEWS WATCH: AFER's Matt Baume on the briefs in the Prop 8 and DOMA cases.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Hundreds Injured as Meteors Rain Down on Russia: VIDEOS

Bright objects reported to be meteors captured on dozens of CCTV cameras rained down over central Russia today and more than 500 have been injured by explosions caused by the space objects, Reuters reports:

People heading to work in Chelyabinsk heard what sounded like an explosion, saw a bright light and then felt a shockwave according to a Reuters correspondent in the industrial city 1,500 km (950 miles) east of Moscow.

A fireball blazed across the horizon, leaving a long white trail in its wake which could be seen as far as 200 km (125 miles) away in Yekaterinburg. Car alarms went off, windows shattered and mobile phone networks were interrupted.

Most of the people were injured due to breaking glass, the NYT adds. The Guardian has an F.A.Q.

Watch the insane videos, AFTER THE JUMP...

Winter Storm 'Nemo' from Space: PHOTO

Heeeeeeeere's Nemo!

A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

The satellite image, captured at 9:01 a.m. EST, shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

(via NASA)

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Iran President Ahmadinejad Wants to 'Sacrifice' Himself for Science and Be Sent into Space

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to be his country's first astronaut, the AP reports:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday that he's ready to take the risk of being the first Iranian astronaut sent into space as part of Iran's goal of a manned space flight.

"I'm ready to be the first Iranian to sacrifice myself for our country's scientists," the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying in an address to space scientists in Tehran.

Space tourist Anousheh Ansari was the first Iranian to make a journey into space aboard a Soyuz TMA-9 capsule from Baikonur, Kazakhastan, in September 2006. The 40-year-old telecommunications entrepreneur paid a reported $20 million for a space station visit. Her journey became an inspiration to women in male-dominated Iran.

Iran sent a monkey into space last week.

Which prompted John McCain to put in his racist $.02.

So Ahmadinejad wants to be first Iranian in space - wasn't he just there last week? "Iran launches monkey into space" news.yahoo.com/iran-launches-…

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) February 4, 2013

Inspiring reaction from many, including lawmakers:

Seeing that, Michigan congressman Rep. Justin Amash, 32, shot back. “Maybe you should wisen up & not make racist jokes,” Amash tweeted.

Not everyone on the right agreed with Amash. Conservative John Podhoretz, for example, Tweeted this: "How dare McCain say something demeaning & disparaging abt the foremost anti-Semite on the planet." And this: "So...it's defend-the-Jew-hater-from-the-war-hero day."