Good news: How the Earth will survive when the Sun becomes a supergiant The astronomy textbooks will have to be rewritten, say astrophysicists at the University of Sussex who have re-examined standard calculations about solar evolution and the distant future of the Earth. The textbooks tell us that one day the Sun will burn up its nuclear fuel and expand to an enormous size, finally engulfing its inner planets... view more... (2002-01-08)
NASA Scientists Detect Spectrum of Planets Orbiting Other Stars For the first time, scientists at Goddard have obtained a spectrum, or molecular fingerprint, of a planet orbiting another star. Using spectroscopy, scientists were able to identify silicon dust in clouds on a gas-giant planet called HD 209458b. That planet is located 150 light years from Earth. view more (2007-02-23)