Okay, by now you’ve had your Vegemite toast Brekkie and might even be planning Bikkies for Elevenses.  But there’s still a world to conquer and there’s no better way than to fill your belly than with News of Outer Space on CareerSpot:

Australian National University scientist Professor Kurt Lambeck has been awarded with France’s highest decoration, the Legion of Honor.   Lambeck spent several years in France designing that nation’s space program, specifically working on satellites, gravity fields and ocean tides.  He credits France for giving him academic freedom to pursue these fields, and says his work continues in Oz.


Oz and Outer Space meet again in the mind of Russell Crowe.  The actor tweets he saw a UFO in the form of a red flash outside the window of his office in Woolloomooloo, NSW.  Crowe says he happened to have the camera in place because he and a friend wanted to capture photos of Fruit Bats rising from the Botanic gardens.  Yep, that’s totally not a lens flare.


Earth is about to get buzzed by another really, really big rock.  Asteroid 2013 ET is 100 meters wide and would probably pack quite the punch if it were to hit.  Luckily, scientists say it’s expected to pass at a distance of 960 Thousand kilometers.  That’s too far to see, but the Virtual Telescope Project in Italy will have it online when it passes by on this weekend (or set your alarms for 8 March, 19:00 UTC).  Here's another website with a countdown clock!


Italy’s Mount Etna erupted and lit up the night sky over Sicily with a fountain of glowing lava and ash.  No injuries are reported, and Italians took the usual precautions, which often include rerouting of air traffic.  Higher up, Astronauts aboard the International Space Station caught last week’s eruptions on camera.  Etna hasn’t had this many eruptions in quick succession in more than 12 years.