NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Its First Rocky Planet

ScienceDaily for January 11, 2011 reported the discovery by Kepler of a rocky exoplanet.

"The discovery of Kepler 10-b is a significant milestone in the search for planets similar to our own," said Douglas Hudgins, Kepler program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Although this planet is not in the habitable zone, the exciting find showcases the kinds of discoveries made possible by the mission and the promise of many more to come."

Astrobiology Top 10: First Super-Earth Atmosphere Analyzed

Astrobiology Magazine for December 27, 2010 reported on the atmosphere surrounding an exoplanet,

The atmosphere around a super-Earth exoplanet has been analyzed for the first time by an international team of astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The planet, which is known as GJ 1214b, was studied as it passed in front of its parent star and some of the starlight passed through the planet’s atmosphere. We now know that the atmosphere is either mostly water in the form of steam or is dominated by thick clouds or hazes. The results appear in the 2 December 2010 issue of the journal Nature.

7 Amazing Exoplanets [Interactive]

Science American for November 23, 2010 gave video descriptions of what exoplanets might be like.

Hundreds of planets around other stars have been discovered recently, but many centuries may pass before human eyes actually see them up close. Interpreting current data, Hugo award-winning artist Ron Miller takes us to seven of the most fascinating of these worlds. Text and narration by Ed Bell

Trace Amounts of Water Created Oceans on Earth and Other Terrestrial Planets, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily for December 20, 2010 reported on a theory of how oceans came into being on the earth.

But a recent study by an MIT planetary scientist suggests that the planetesimals themselves provided the water that created oceans. As Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the Mitsui Career Development Assistant Professor of Geology in MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, reports in a recent paper in Astrophysics and Space Science, these planetesimals contained trace amounts of water -- at least .01 to .001 percent of their total mass (scientists don't know the precise size of planetesimals, but they estimate that those that created Earth were between hundreds and thousands of kilometers in diameter). In the paper, Elkins-Tanton says it is likely that even tiny amounts of water in the planetesimals could create steam atmospheres that later cooled and condensed into liquid oceans on terrestrial planets.

Mars Volcanic Deposit Tells of Warm and Wet Environment

ScienceDaily for October 31, 2010 reported on potential for life on Mars.

Planetary scientists led by Brown University have found a volcanic deposit on Mars that would have been a promising wellspring for life. The silica deposit clearly shows the presence of water and heat. It was formed at a time when Mars' climate turned dry and chilly, which could mark it as one of the most recent habitable microenvironments on the red planet. The finding is published in Nature Geoscience.

Earth-Sized Planets May Be Common Throughout Our Galaxy, NASA Survey Suggests

ScienceDaily for October 29, 2010 reported on the possibility of exoplanets similar to our earth.

They measured the numbers of planets falling into five groups, ranging from 1,000 times the mass of Earth, or about three times the mass of Jupiter, down to three times the mass of Earth. The search was confined to planets orbiting close to their stars -- within 0.25 astronomical units, or a quarter of the distance between our sun and Earth.

Lunar 'Permafrost': Evidence for Widespread Water Ice on the Moon

ScienceDaily for October 22, 2010 reported on water ice on the Moon.

"The temperatures inside these permanently shadowed craters are even colder than we had expected," Paige said. "Our model results indicate that in these extreme cold conditions, surface deposits of water ice would almost certainly be stable; but perhaps more significantly, these areas are surrounded by much larger permafrost regions where ice could be stable just beneath the surface."

NASA-Engineered Collision Spills New Moon Secrets

ScienceDaily for October 21, 2010 reported on ingredients in moon-soil.

In one of the papers, Brown planetary geologist Peter Schultz and graduate student Brendan Hermalyn, along with NASA scientists, write that the cloud kicked up by the rocket's impact showed the Moon's soil and subsurface is more complex than believed: Not only did the lunar regolith -- the soil -- contain water, it also harbored other compounds, such as hydroxyl, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ammonia, free sodium, and, in a surprise, silver.

Planet Hunters No Longer Blinded by the Light: New Way to See Faint Planets Previously Hidden in Their Star's Glare

ScienceDaily for October 17, 2010 reported on a new way to see exoplanets close to their star.

Installed on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, or VLT, atop Paranal Mountain in Chile, the new technology enabled an international team of astronomers to confirm the existence and orbital movement of Beta Pictoris b, a planet about seven to 10 times the mass of Jupiter, around its parent star, Beta Pictoris, 63 light years away.

Laser Tool for Studying Mars Rocks

ScienceDaily for September 30, 2010 reported on a new laser to test the mineral content of rocks on Mars.

The NASA Mars Science Laboratory Project's rover, Curiosity, will carry a newly delivered laser instrument named ChemCam to reveal what elements are present in rocks and soils on Mars up to 7 meters (23 feet) away from the rover.

Atmosphere Checked, One Mars Year Before a Landing

ScienceDaily for September 30, 2010 reported on the testing of the atmosphere of Mars.

"It is currently one Mars year before the Mars Science Laboratory arrival season," said atmospheric scientist David Kass of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "This campaign will provide a set of observations to support the Mars Science Laboratory engineering team and Mars atmospheric modelers. The information will constrain the expected climate at their landing season. It will also help define the range of possible weather conditions on landing day."

Research Lays Foundation for Building on the Moon -- Or Anywhere Else

ScienceDaily
for September 30, 2010 reported on research into building foundations and soil.

The key to the stability of any building is its foundation, but it is difficult to test some building sites in advance -- such as those on the moon. New research from North Carolina State University is helping resolve the problem by using computer models that can utilize a small sample of soil to answer fundamental questions about how soil at a building site will interact with foundations.

Mars Rover Opportunity Approaching Possible Meteorite

ScienceDaily for September 29, 2010 reported on a possible meteorite on Mars.

"The dark color, rounded texture and the way it is perched on the surface all make it look like an iron meteorite," said science-team member Matt Golombek of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Opportunity has found four iron meteorites during the rover's exploration of the Meridiani Planum region of Mars since early 2004. Examination of these rocks has provided information about the Martian atmosphere, as well as the meteorites themselves.

Newly Discovered Planet May Be First Truly Habitable Exoplanet

ScienceDaily for September 29, 2010 reported
on an exoplanet that likely has the conditions for life.

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.

Distant Star's Sound Waves Reveal Cycle Similar to the Sun's

ScienceDaily for August 27, 2010 reported on sound waves from a distant star.

In a bid to unlock longstanding mysteries of the Sun, including the impacts on Earth of its 11-year cycle, an international team of scientists has successfully probed a distant star. By monitoring the star's sound waves, the team has observed a magnetic cycle analogous to the Sun's solar cycle.

Solar System Similar to Ours? Richest Planetary System Discovered

ScienceDaily for August 24, 2010 reported on an exoplanet system of 5 planets orbiting a star.

"We have found what is most likely the system with the most planets yet discovered," says Christophe Lovis, lead author of the paper reporting the result. "This remarkable discovery also highlights the fact that we are now entering a new era in exoplanet research: the study of complex planetary systems and not just of individual planets. Studies of planetary motions in the new system reveal complex gravitational interactions between the planets and give us insights into the long-term evolution of the system."

Dry Again: New Analysis of Apollo Moon Rocks Points to a Largely Waterless Lunar Interior

Scientific American for August 5, 2010 reported on a lack of water on the moon.

Now a new study, published online August 5 in href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/science.1192606">Science, pushes back against the hydrated-moon hypothesis. Zachary Sharp, a geochemist at the University of New Mexico, and his colleagues measured the chemical composition of several Apollo samples and found that the chlorine content of the lunar rocks and soils implied that the moon's interior was largely bereft of water, as originally suspected.

A ScienceNOW article is here.
A Discover Blogs article is here.

Finding Frugal Aliens: 'Benford Beacons' Concept Could Refocus Search for Signs of Intelligent Extraterrestrial Life

ScienceDaily for July 21, 2010 reported on a new way to listen for alien signals.

Their concept of short, targeted blips -- dubbed "Benford beacons" by the science press -- has gotten extensive coverage in such publications as Astronomy Now. Well-known cosmologist Paul Davies, in his 2010 book The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence, supports the theory.

Evidence of Water in Lunar Rocks: Water on Moon May Be Widespread, Similar to Earth's

ScienceDaily for July 22, 2010 reported on water in the moon.

To be precise, they didn't find "water" -- the molecule H2O. Rather, they found hydrogen in the form of a hydroxyl anion, OH-, bound in the apatite mineral lattice.