Astronomers have discovered two earth sized planets orbiting a distant sun through a telescope, for the first time ever.

The find is significant because of the size of the planets, which is very similar to the earth. The planets orbit closer to their star than the planet Mercury’s orbit to the sun. Astronomers believe that the planets are too hot to sustain life and may lack water.

It is noted that because the similar size of the planets to the Earth, they have relatively low gravity and a solid, rocky composition, characteristics that are essential to sustain life.

American space agency, NASA is planning to launch its most powerful and advanced robotic rover designed to explore Mars and look for signals of life on the red planet.

The Mars Science Laboratory is a six wheel vehicle that is powered by nuclear fuel. NASA is set to launch the robotic rover at 10:02 am from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on an Atlas V rocket.

Washington, Sept 30 : After six months of orbiting Mercury, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is providing surprising new information on the planet.

New close-up images and data provided by the spacecraft indicate Mercury, the tiny planet closest to the Sun, has a lopsided magnetic field, much more sulfur than expected and strange "hollows" across its surface that may hint at present-day geologic activity.

Washington, Sept 30 : NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has discovered that there are significantly fewer near-Earth asteroids in the mid-size range than previously thought.

Astronomers now estimate there are roughly 19,500 - not 35,000 - mid-size near-Earth asteroids.

Scientists said this improved understanding of the population might indicate that the hazard to Earth could be somewhat less than previously thought.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has raised concerns with the government saying the fracking technique for exploiting underground supplies of shale gas might threaten the hot springs of the city of Bath.

The council is concerned about licences granted for the use of the technique to two companies looking for gas in the Mendip Hills to the south Bath. Department for Environment has granted licenses to both Eden Energy and UK Methane.

Washington, Sept 28 : The climate on Venus at more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit under a suffocating blanket of sulfuric acid clouds is widely known to be unpleasant - but that's not so, say US astronomers.

While it is true that the planet's surface has a crushing atmosphere more than 90 times the pressure of Earth''s, a new study of old data by NASA and international scientists suggests that higher up, the weather gets
more interesting.

London, Sept 28 : The US space agency has revealed that any surviving remnants of the NASA's UARS satellite that recently re-entered Earth's atmosphere fell into the southern Pacific Ocean, far from major landmass.

The defunct satellite fell to Earth northeast of the Vanuatu archipelago last weekend and orbital tracking experts have now established that it entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean at 14.1 degrees South latitude and 170.2 degrees West longitude.

Washington, Sept 20 : Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission suggest that the family of asteroids believed to be responsible for the death of dinosaurs is not likely the culprit.

While scientists are confident a large asteroid crashed into Earth approximately 65 million years ago, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs and some other life forms on our planet, they do not know exactly where the asteroid came from or how it made its way to Earth.

London, Sept 8 : Researchers at the University of Bristol have found clear evidence that the planet's accessible reserves of precious metals- such as gold and platinum- are the result of a bombardment of meteorites more than 200 million years after the Earth was formed.

They came to the conclusion after ultra high precision analyses of some of the oldest rock samples on Earth.

During the formation of the Earth, molten iron sank to its centre to make the core. This took with it the vast majority of the planet's precious metals.

Washington, Sept 7 : NASA''s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the last foot trails left on the moon by astronauts.

The images show the tracks and debris left by Apollo astronauts in visits from 1969 to 1972 at the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites.

The `remarkable' twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface, including the tracks laid down by the lunar rover, are clearly visible in these images.

Washington, Sept 7 : A new study has suggested that thousands of "time bombs" could be scattered throughout our galaxy.

Scientists have revealed that some old stars might be held up by their rapid spins, and when they slow down, they explode as supernovae.

A new study is trying to answer the question that has divided biologists since a long time, which is the innermost digit of a bird's three-pronged wing is like a thumb or an index finger.

According to the new study published online by Nature on Sunday concludes that it is a bit of both. The study found that the stem cells that produce the first digit die off during early stages of embryonic development and cells responsible for developing an index finger develops a thumb-like appendage.

Washington, Sept 2 : Veteran Martian rover Opportunity that is exploring the rim of a vast Martian crater have found evidence of water and chemicals unlike anything the robot has seen so far - a finding that could explain the red planet appears more favorable for life.

A team of researchers have discovered the oldest remains of advanced stone tools ever to have been found, at a site in Kenya.

Archaeologists dug out some picks, flakes and hand axes while excavating mudstone banks on the shores of Lake Turkana in north-west Kenya. The stone tools, designed for crushing, cutting and scraping allowed early humans to butcher animal and use meat.

London, Sept 01 : The first pair of super massive black holes in a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way has been discovered by astronomers using NASA''s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Approximately 160 million light-years from Earth, the pair is the nearest known such phenomenon.

The black holes are located near the centre of the spiral galaxy NGC 3393. Separated by only 490 light-years, the black holes are likely the remnant of a merger of two galaxies of unequal mass a billion or more years ago.

Washington, August 30 : A distant galaxy could help elucidate two unanswered fundamental questions of galaxy formation, including how they take in matter and how they give off energetic radiation.

Michael Rauch from the Carnegie Observatories and his team discovered a galaxy with an extended patch of light surrounding it, using the Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory and archival images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Washington, August 29: The first nuclear power plant for the production of electricity for manned or unmanned bases on the Moon, Mars and other planets "may really look like it came from outer space" once the concept is brought to fruition, a US scientist says.

Washington, August 27: NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured raw images of Hyperion on August 25, when the space craft flew past Saturn's oddly shaped moon at a distance of about 15,500 miles (25,000 kilometres), making this the second closest encounter.

Hyperion is a small moon -- just 168 miles (270 kilometres) across. It has an irregular shape and surface appearance, and it rotates chaotically as it tumbles along in orbit.

Washington, August 26 : NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, which is hoped to provide new information about how the Moon formed, has entered final preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch onboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GRAIL's twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore Earth's nearest neighbour in unprecedented detail. They will determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance our understanding of the thermal evolution of the Moon.

London, Aug 25 : NASA's Swift satellite have spotted a truly extraordinary event, the awakening of a distant galaxy's dormant black hole as it shredded and consumed a star.

Two new studies provide new insights into a cosmic accident that has been streaming X-rays toward Earth since late March.

NASA's Swift satellite first alerted astronomers to intense and unusual high-energy flares from the new source in the constellation Draco.