SUNSET: 
What's Going on Inside Enceladus?
One of Saturn's icy moons has a tummy ache, causing it to spew jets of gas and icy particles hundreds of miles into space. Researchers aren't sure of the cause — but they have some interesting guesses!
Craters Reveal Ice in the Martian Dust
High-resolution images from orbit reveal tiny craters — created within the past year — surrounded by splashes of water ice dredged up from just below the Martian surface.
(Drops of) Water on Mars?
Last year, as a camera aboard the Phoenix lander looked on, drops of supersalty water grew, merged, and even dripped on one of the spacecraft's landing legs.
Super Sendoff for Planet-Hunting Kepler
After a dramatic and flawless liftoff, NASA's newest space observatory is getting ready to observe a tract of Milky May with a single-minded purpose: find as many alien worlds as it can.
The Curious Case of Martian Methane
Mars, it seems, is not quite dead. A team of observers has found methane in the Red Planet's atmosphere. This finding proves either that Mars has (or once had) life — or that the planet's interior occasionally burps.
Martian Mega-Rover Gets a "Time Out"
Plagued by a technical obstacles that could threaten its success, a $2 billion Mars rover has been postponed two years by NASA officials. The Mars Science Laboratory's new launch date is 2011.
Martian Dirt is Friendly to Life
The Phoenix lander's first wet chemical analysis of the Martian surface confirms water’s thumbprint and finds the kinds of inorganic minerals you'd have in a backyard garden.
Is Mars Too Salty for Life?
A just-published study, coincidentally appearing as Phoenix prepares to get the dirt on Martian habitability, argues that the Red Planet's soil is at least 10 to 100 times saltier than Earth's oceans.
A Rich Protoplanetary Soup
Infrared observations reveal a star with a protoplanetary disk infused with helpful organic compounds.
A Star with Five Planets
The Sun-like star 55 Cancri, just 41 light-years away, is now known to have at least five planets orbiting it.
One Less "Possibility of Life"?
Just because Saturn's moon Enceladus has active geysers doesn't mean it harbors alien life. That's the take-home message from an upcoming scientific paper.
