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"Harps employs an indirect method of detection that infers the existence of orbiting planets from the way their gravity makes a parent star appear to twitch in its motion across the sky. "Our new observations with Harps mean that about 40% of all red dwarf stars have a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone where liquid water can exist on the surface of the planet," said team leader Xavier Bonfils from the Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble, France. "Because red dwarfs are so common - there are about 160 billion of them in the Milky Way - this leads us to the astonishing result that there are tens of billions of these planets in our galaxy alone.""

"A team of planet hunters led by astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington has announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet (three times the mass of Earth) orbiting a nearby star at a distance that places it squarely in the middle of the star's "habitable zone," where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface. If confirmed, this would be the most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered and the first strong case for a potentially habitable one."

"View of the solar system showing the locations of all the asteroids starting in 1980, as asteroids are discovered they are added to the map and highlighted white so you can pick out the new ones. The final colour of an asteroids indicates how closely it comes to the inner solar system. Earth Crossers are Red Earth Approachers (Perihelion less than 1.3AU) are Yellow All Others are Green Notice now the pattern of discovery follows the Earth around its orbit, most discoveries are made in the region directly opposite the Sun. You'll also notice some clusters of discoveries on the line between Earth and Jupiter, these are the result of surveys looking for Jovian moons. Similar clusters of discoveries can be tied to the other outer planets, but those are not visible in this video. As the video moves into the mid 1990's we see much higher discovery rates as automated sky scanning systems come online. Most of the surveys are imaging the sky directly opposite the sun and you'll see a region of high discovery rates aligned in this manner. At the beginning of 2010 a new discovery pattern becomes evident, with discovery zones in a line perpendicular to the Sun-Earth vector. These new observations are the result of the WISE (Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer) which is a space mission that's tasked with imaging the entire sky in infrared wavelengths. Currently we have observed over half a million minor planets, and the discovery rates snow no sign that we're running out of undiscovered objects. Orbital elements were taken from the 'astorb.dat' data created by Ted Bowell and associates at http://www.naic.edu/~nolan/astorb.html"

"Schoolchildren are at it again, ditching school, busting out tricks on their bikes, and serving up some large-scale pranks to the world. These kids may not be taking notes, but they know how to take control and make themselves heard -- especially when it comes to saving the planet."

A brief video on the sizes of the planets to scale and several known stars

Curious about planets on other stars?

We will teach you to identify 3 constellations, 2 stars, and 1 planet. Betelgeuse will also teach you how to navigate at night using the stars.

The landscapes of other planets have long been the source of fantasies and speculation, but in the last few decades we've finally been able to get a close-up view of the surfaces of alien worlds. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been orbiting Mars since 2006, and on board is the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, or HiRISE.

The Vast Macrocosm Beyond our Planet Earth,.Beyond Our Solar Systerm,..Beyond Our Galaxy,. Beyond Our Universe,... Beyond our Comprehension,..Take a Light Sp...

Bill Nye and the Discovery Channel give you the greatest discoveries in science. Earth is always changing, and Earth's species must continually adapt. Host Bill Nye gives an inside look at planet Earth, from its inner core to its protective magnetic field. Discover how earthquakes and volcanoes help explain plate tectonics and the dynamic geology of oceans and continents. Learn how the Earth's atmosphere gives scientific insight about weather and climate, and look at forms of radiation and the potential dangers from harmful gases and geologic changes.

"One transport truck-sized asteroid passed the Earth Wednesday morning and another will soar by in the afternoon, with both far closer to the planet than the moon. There is no danger of the Earth being hit and both should be visible with moderate-sized amateur telescopes, NASA reported."

The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010.

"The upper layer of the world's ocean has warmed since 1993, indicating a strong climate change signal, according to a new study. The energy stored is enough to power nearly 500 100-watt light bulbs per each of the roughly 6.7 billion people on the planet."

"In 1975, a new word came into use, when a maverick mathematician made an important discovery. So what are fractals? And why are they important? "

Amateur solar photography

Pop Sci asks a question you where probably dying to have answered.