Lists New Planets New planets have been discovered and they are outside of our solar system (extrasolar). The first extrasolar planet was discovered in 1995. syst News Astronomers Discuss Changing Earth's Orbit (CNN) Describes a plan, which must be put into place within 3.5 billion years, to move the Earth's orbit gradually away from the sun as the Sun becomes hotter. Talk about planning ahead... 2-01 Astronomy - Mission to Visit an Astroid (CNN) Summarizes the plan by Japan to land on an astroid and then have the spacecraft return to earth with a sample. 6-02 Astronomy - Solar Systems Similar to Ours Found (USAToday.com - Fergano) "European and U.S. astronomers Thursday announced the discovery of two solar systems with planets in orbits similar to our own, a finding that boosts the odds that they harbor extraterrestrial life." One orbits the star 55 Cancri. 6-02 Astronomy - Water Discovered on Mars (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Describes efforts to find water on Mars on the Odyssey project. 'The signal we're getting is loud and clear. There's lots of ice on Mars," Boynton said. "We're not just looking at surface frost. It's a fair amount of ice." Finding water on Mars means that Humans may be able to live there. 6-02 Astronomy and Space News (CNN) Provides news stories. Breaking News in Astronomy (Pole Star Publications) Provides news key news stories. 9-00 Earliest Tick Discovered (Discovery.com) Provides a description and picture of a tick considered 90 million years old and the earliest found so far. 4-01 Egyptian Cities Found Underwater (Egypt Revealed) Describes a major find in Egypt, including statues and evidence of styles of life in Egypt more than 1200 years ago. News stories described the treasures found as spectacular. 6-01 Endeavor Space Shuttle (Nasa) Describes progress of the space shuttle. 12-01 Extinction 200 Million Years Ago (CNN) Describes a very rapid mass extinction of life on earth 200 million years ago. 5-01 Fossil of Earliest Land Walker Found (CNN) "A fossil found in 1971 has been newly identified as the earliest known animal built to walk on land, a salamanderlike creature that marked a previously unknown stage in the evolution of fish into the ancestors of all vertebrates alive today." "The toothy animal, Pederpes finneyae, lived between 348 million and 344 million years ago in what is now Scotland." 7-02 NASA Space Mission News (Yahoo) Provides the stories and pictures of the latest NASA news events. 11-01 Planet Discovered in "Life" Zone (CNN - Stenger) Describes planet found in another solar system that is the correct distance from its sun to support life on one of its moons. 5-01 Planetlike Body Seen Orbiting a Star (CNN.com) "Astronomers have taken optical images of a giant planetlike body orbiting near a sunlike star, making it the closest ever observed around a star through direct imaging." 1-02 Planets Found in Solar System Similar to Ours (University of California, Berkeley - Exoplanets.org) Provides news about the discovery of a Jupiter size planet that is in an orbit similar to the orbit of our Jupiter. 8-01 Planets in Other Solar Systems (Exoplanets.org) Provides news about the latest findings on planets in other solar systems. Also provides latest findings on existing planets, techniques for finding planets, and more. 8-01 Relativity Tested (CNNfyi.com - Berger) Describes a test to be made in space to see if one of Einstein's theories about time and motion are accurate. 6-02 Skull 6 Million Years Old Challenges Human Origins (CNN - Walton) "A team of researchers in central Africa say they've uncovered what appears to be the earliest evidence of the human family ever found -- a skull, jawbone and teeth between 6 million and 7 million years old." "Chadian authorities are nicknaming the specimen 'Toumai,' a name usually given to babies born before the dry season in the region." The name of this earliest hominid is S. tchadensis. 7-02 Space Station and Shuttle (NASA Human Spaceflight - Dismukes and Humphries) Provides news on events surrounding space stations and shuttles. 2-01 Papers Early Life on Earth (Nature.com) Provides a discussion about how long the earth remained hot at its beginning and how that affected early bacteria. 4-01 Geminid Meteor Showers (American Meteor Society - Kronk) Describes the Geminid meteorite shower, which can be seen in early December. 11-01 Geminid Meteor Showers (NASA) Describes the Geminid meteorite shower, which can be seen in early December. 11-01 Latest Discoveries in Science (National Geographic Society) Provides an overview of discoveries from the microscopic to the cosmic. 11-99 Mars - Strong Evidence of Life (CNN) Provides the conclusion of scientists that a rock, believed to be 4.5 billion years old, contains fossilized bacteria that originated on Mars. 12-00 New Planets Discovered (CNN - Space) Describes the discovery of 11 new planets outside of our solar system. One is in the "habitable" zone for life as we know it. 4-01 Solar Flare - Largest Recorded (CNN - Space) Describes the largest flare from the sun that has ever been recorded. 4-01 Speed of Light May Be Changing (New Scientist) Provides a summary of research that shows that the speed of light, one of the most important constants in physics and astronomy, is changing. 8-01 Transistors - Single Molecule Transistor Invented (CNN) Describes a new transistior invented that is the size of a molecule. It will take several years before it will be available for use in electronics, such as computers. 11-01 Water May Flow on Mars (BBC News - Whitehouse) Shows pictures that suggest that water may have flowed on the surface of Mars recently. 6-01 Research Amphibians Respond to Climate Changes (Nature.com) Provides a summary of research on frogs and other amphibians. It suggests that multiple factors may be reducing the number of amphibians and that global climate changes may be the key ingredient. 4-01

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