A noted 4-meter asteroid, 2008 TC 3, was observed in space on a collision course with Earth on 6 October 2008 and entered Earth's atmosphere the next day, striking a remote area of northern Sudan. It was the first time that a meteoroid had been observed in space and tracked prior to impacting Earth.
In the mean time, it is still possible to reconstruct in a limited manner the development of Thomas Paineâs religious beliefs. Born in England during the latter years of the Enlightenment he was first shaped by his Quaker father and Catholic mother.
A Real Paine for the British. Beside attacks on George III, he called for the establishment of a republic. Even patriot leaders like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams condemned Paine as an extremist on the issue of a post-independence government. Still, Common Sense grew the patriot cause.