An international team of astronomers has discovered two planets that resemble smaller versions of Jupiter and Saturn in a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away.

A team of international astronomers reports in the Feb. 15 issue of Science the discovery of a solar system nearly 5,000 light years away with scaled-down versions of Jupiter and Saturn. Their findings suggest our galaxy could conceivably contain many star systems similar to our own. The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored the research.

When atoms combine to form molecules in the upper atmosphere, energy may be released in the form of photons, causing the atmosphere to weakly glow. Called “dayglow” over the dayside and “nightglow” over the nightside, such emissions of light are seen over Earth, Mars, and Venus.

Anorthosites, igneous rocks rich in plagioclase feldspar, are common on the Earth, Moon, and possibly other planets. Though anorthosites are usually not considered to be strongly magnetic, Brown and McEnroe note that their magnetic properties could be useful in investigating mineral deposits in addition to magnetic anomalies on other planets, particularly Mars.

The planet Mercury's magnetic field appears to be strong enough to fend off the harsh solar wind from most of its surface, according to data gathered in part by a University of Michigan instrument onboard NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft.

Incoming visible solar radiation heats the surface of terrestrial planets; infrared photons emitted by the surface are absorbed in the low atmosphere by greenhouse gases.

The European Space Agency (ESA) signalled the start of a busy period for the planet Mercury, when it signed the contract for industrial development to start for the BepiColombo mission today (18th January 2008) at Astrium in Friedrichshafen, Germany. UK scientists and industry have key roles in BepiColombo, including construction of spacecraft subsystems and science instrument design.

As MESSENGER approached Mercury on January 14, 2008, the spacecraft’s Narrow-Angle Camera on the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) instrument captured this view of the planet’s rugged, cratered landscape illuminated obliquely by the Sun.

At 2:04 p.m. EST on Monday, MESSENGER skimmed 200 kilometers (124 miles) above the surface of Mercury in the first of three flybys of the planet. Initial indications from the radio signals indicate the spacecraft is still operating nominally.

Astronomers from Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have detected for the first time the molecules methanimine and hydrogen cyanide – two ingredients that build life-forming amino acids – in a galaxy some 250 million light years away.

What lies on the uncharted side of mysterious Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system? Brown University students, led by planetary geologist James Head, will study never-before-seen images of Mercury when a NASA spacecraft makes the first visit to Mercury in nearly 33 years.

NASA will point a power-packed $8.7 million University of Colorado at Boulder space instrument at some of the last unexplored terrain in the inner solar system when the MESSENGER spacecraft whips within 125 miles of Mercury's surface Jan. 14 at a mind-boggling 141,000 miles per hour.