Talk about lucky number seven. Astronomers have discovered not one, not two, but seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1.

What’s more, three of them are in the habitable zone— the happy place where liquid water can exist on the surface of rocky planets, as it’s not too hot or cold. (Although liquid water could potentially exist on any of the seven, NASA said, it likes the odds on those three best.) The space agency calls the discovery of the fascinating solar system record-breaking.

“The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said at a news conference announcing the discovery.

This is the first time astronomers have found so many Earth-sized planets circling the same sun.

Read more @ http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/02/22/...-announces.html

Err... 40 light years away from our Solar system is not close at all. NASA Helios 2 space probe is the fastest man-made object ever. It set a record speed of 157,078 mph during the mission.



Yes, they are fairly close to each other and it may be a good way to study the 7-celestial rigid body perturbation.



Find more @ http://www.space.com/35784-trappist-1-eart...es-gallery.html

Making 'Cassini’s Grand Finale'

For your info, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is almost out of fuel and ready for retirement on September 15, 2017, by crashing into Saturn.



The final chapter in a remarkable mission of exploration and discovery, Cassini's Grand Finale is in many ways like a brand new mission. Twenty-two times, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will dive through the unexplored space between Saturn and its rings. What we learn from these ultra-close passes over the planet could be some of the most exciting revelations ever returned by the long-lived spacecraft. This animated video tells the story of Cassini's final, daring assignment and looks back at what the mission has accomplished.

For more about the making of this video, including the science behind the imagery, see the feature at https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/3016/makin...s-grand-finale/

The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and ASI (the Italian Space Agency). The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space

Janna Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Columbia University, gave a live public lecture webcast on the Physics of Gravitational Wave Detection at Perimeter Institute.

What is a Neutron Star?

An upcoming NASA mission, called the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer mission, or NICER, will study the extraordinary environments — strong gravity, ultra-dense matter, and the most powerful magnetic fields in the universe — embodied by neutron stars, from the International Space Station (ISS).