What better way to distract yourself from pandemic pandemonium than a bit of stargazing.
That is, unless an asteroid starts to hurtle towards Earth or an alien invasion happens. This might sound silly, surreal and absurd, but we can't help it.
Those silly, surreal and absurd comedians from the 1970s and '80s - the Goodies - were on our mind as we wrote this [see below].
Kurri Kurri's Col Maybury hasn't seen any aliens yet, but he has been doing a bit of stargazing. He's been tracking Comet Atlas. Mind you, he's had to track it from his computer because it hasn't been visible in the sky Down Under.
For a while there, the comet was one of the brightest objects in the night sky. Astronomers said that in the space of a month, it became 4000 times brighter than when it was first spotted.
It had the potential to become "the comet of a generation".
Col says there's often a lot of hype around newly discovered comets.
"Every comet is going to be 'the great comet'. But I live in hope," he said.
The comet in question was named Atlas because it was discovered in Hawaii on December 28 by a US military spy installation called ATLAS [Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System].
The alert system's main job is to scan the sky for objects that could threaten our planet.
"That hush-hush group - with their magnificent instruments scanning for missiles or other acts of war - can pick up comets long before amateurs can, which is a pity," Col said.
"Amateurs were the major discoverers of comets in the old days."
As for Comet Atlas, the latest reports say it could be breaking apart. A comet, we're told, is basically a dirty, melting snowball. This giant Atlas snowball, then, may be melting quicker than expected.
The Saint of Silliness
Speaking of the stars, tributes have been flowing for Goodies' comedy legend Tim Brooke-Taylor, following reports on Monday that he passed away from COVID-19.
Here's what people said on Twitter about Tim and the Goodies.
"The Goodies were such a magical distant land for children of my age, so surreal and funny it was hard to believe they actually existed. They were like imaginary friends."
"It's impossible to convey to people who are too young to remember The Goodies, just how absurdly entertaining it was. It was like a cartoon, but with real people."
"It's always hard when a part of your childhood goes, so bless Tim Brooke-Taylor - the patron saint of silliness. For anyone in lockdown of any age, I recommend the Goodies episode 'The End', where the Goodies are trapped in the office for 50 years. It's been on my mind these past weeks."
"The Goodies' Kitten Kong was just the best! The Monkey and Goodies combo on ABC TV was absolute gold growing up."
