Planetary systems much like our own may be more common than what we thought:
Dr Dominik told BBC News: "We found a system with two planets that take the roles of Jupiter and Saturn in our Solar System. These two planets have a similar mass ratio and similar orbital radius and a similar orbital period.
"It looks like this may have formed in a similar way to our Solar System. And if this is the case, it looks like [our] Solar System cannot be unique in the Universe. There should be other similar systems out there which could host terrestrial planets."
Today marks the 50th anniversary of when the Soviet Union successfully launched the first satellite, Sputnik I, into space. NASA has written a restrospective story of Sputnik, including photos and references, on how the satellite gave rise to the space age and the U.S. - U.S.S.R. space race.
The European Space Agency launched a 'pregnancy test' into space which will search for signs of life on Mars.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) postage-stamp-sized experiment, called the "Life Marker Chip" (LMC), was launched last week aboard a Russian rocket launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Strapped to the ESA's large Foton-M3 capsule, the tiny experiment harbors more than 2,000 life-detecting samples that glow if they encounter life-critical compounds, such as proteins or DNA.
Scientists and engineers hope the life-sensing chip can remain viable in the harsh radiation, temperatures and vacuum of space during a trip to Mars.
"This will be the first time that these types of materials will have flown unprotected in space in a manner similar to a flight to Mars," said Andrew Steele, a molecular biologist at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C.
The LMC experiment works like a pregnancy test, which uses color-changing chemicals to pick up traces of hormones found in greater numbers after conception.
I'm not sure what planet (Could that be a ring of Saturn?) this moon belongs to, but it is a stunning picture. Does anybody else think that moon looks like the Deathstar? Just a thought. Link to larger image.
Stephen Hawking went weightless 8 times today aboard a Boeing 727. This is all in preparation for a future trip into orbit.
Thursday's flight served an initial test run to see if Hawking had the "Right Stuff" for an even more ambitious journey: a rocket-powered rise to the edge of outer space, perhaps aboard the spaceship now being developed for Virgin Galactic. That craft is due to enter service in 2009 or so, and taking such a flight would check off what Hawking has said is his "next goal."
Never before has hair washing been so fascinating to me. I guess in space you do it with a squirt bottle and try not to spill.
Do you suppose commercial space exploration could be partially funded by a 24/7 Real World show which feeds a real-time broadcast of people doing space stuff?
Astronaut Sunita Williams of the Expedition 15 ran the Boston Marathon while in orbit on the International Space Station.
Williams circled Earth at least twice in the process, running as fast as 13 kilometers per hour but flying 8 kilometers each second, as she completed the Boston Marathon on a station treadmill on Monday. Her unofficial completion time was four hours and 24 minutes as she completed the race at 2:24 p.m. EDT (1824 GMT), according to NASA TV.
Williams ran under better weather conditions than her Boston counterparts. In Boston, it was 48 degrees Fahrenheit (8.8 degrees Celsius) with some rain, mist and wind gusts while station weather was 78 degrees with no wind or rain with 50 percent humidity.
The Boston Athletic Association had issued Williams bib number 14,000. The bib had been sent electronically to NASA, which had forwarded it to Williams. She says her reason for running the marathon is simple. "I would like to encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives. I thought a big goal like a marathon would help get this message out there."
Our society has increasingly been relying on the Global Positioning System (GPS) and now GPS receivers may be in jeopardy due to solar bursts and other space weather.
The cause for their concern, Johnson said, was an unexpected solar radio burst on December 6 that affected virtually every GPS receiver on the lighted half of Earth. Some receivers had a reduction in accuracy while others completely lost the ability to determine position, he said.
Solar activity rises and falls in 11-year cycles, with the next peak expected in 2011.
If that increasing level of activity produces more such radio bursts the GPS system could be seriously affected, the researchers said.
Although there are two possible ways to shield the system, this is a wake up call to learn more about the sun's behavior and improve technology.
The authors say that the possible discovery of caves on the Red Planet is significant.
The caves may be the only natural structures capable of protecting primitive life forms from micrometeoroids, UV radiation, solar flares and high energy particles that bombard the planet's surface.
Here is a map which shows the first moonwalk done on July 21, 1969. 
Today marks the 50th anniversary of when the Soviet Union successfully launched the first satellite, Sputnik I, into space. NASA has written a 
The European Space Agency launched a 'pregnancy test' into space which will search for signs of life on Mars.
I'm not sure what planet (Could that be a ring of Saturn?) this moon belongs to, but it is a stunning picture. Does anybody else think that moon looks like the Deathstar? Just a thought. 
Stephen Hawking went weightless 8 times today aboard a Boeing 727. This is all in preparation for a future trip into orbit.
Many discoveries have been made on Mars lately. First, a 
