His radios carried signals over greater distances, offered more channels and could withstand punishing heat, cold, dust, moisture and vibration.

FORBES: Top Gun

Here, looking towards the centre of the Milky Way, it spies a ribbon of cold gas and dust that is more than 600 light-years across and which appears to be twisted.

BBC: Herschel space telescope to go blind

The US space agency observatory is well suited to picking up the infrared signal expected from cold grains of dust about 10 microns (millionths of a metre) in size.

BBC: New ring detected around Saturn

Alas, all thoughts of successive Grand Slams bit the dust in the biting cold of the Stade de France, but Ireland at least got their championship bid back on track with a stirring win over England.

BBC: Ireland v Wales