(Dec 23, 2005) NASA‘s Hubble Space Telescope has helped discover new rings and two small moons orbiting Uranus. The largest ring is twice the size of the planet’s previously known rings, and went undiscovered until now because they’re so far away from the planet. Scientists think that particles in these rings are slowly spiraling away from Uranus, so there must be some source constantly replenishing them with new material.

Universe Today – New Rings and Moons Around Uranus

Good news to all space geeks and SETI freaks! I say we send a probe immedately!

MAUNA KEA (December 20, 2005) Astronomers at W. M. Keck Observatory have found – for the first time – some of the basic compounds necessary to build organic molecules and one of the bases found in DNA within the inner regions of a planet-forming disk. The object, known as “IRS 46,” is located in the Milky Way galaxy, about 375 light years from Earth, in the constellation Ophiuchus. The results will be published in an upcoming issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“We see prebiotic organic molecules in comets and the gas giant planets in our own solar system and wonder, where did these chemicals come from?â€? said Dr. Marc Kassis, support astronomer at the W. M. Keck Observatory. “The Spitzer Space Telescope is letting us study these young stellar objects in new and revealing ways, giving us exciting clues about where life may form in the universe.”

The two organic compounds found — acetylene and hydrogen cyanide — are commonly found in our own solar system, such as the atmospheres of the giant gas planets, the icy surfaces of comets, and the atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Another carbon-containing species detected, carbon dioxide, is widespread in the atmospheres of Venus, the Earth, and Mars.

Read the full story:
Precursor to Proteins, DNA Found in Stellar Disk

I just found this feature story on NASA’s news site.

“Before the end of the next decade, NASA astronauts will again explore the surface of the moon. And this time, we’re going to stay, building outposts and paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond. There are echoes of the iconic images of the past, but it won’t be your grandfather’s moon shot.”

NASA Feature Story: How We’ll Get Back to the Moon

“A new robot can recognize the difference between a mirror image of itself and another robot that looks just like it. … The ground-breaking technology could eventually lead to robots able to express emotions.”

Slashdot | Robot Demonstrates Self-awareness

“Scientists have decoded the mitochondrial DNA of the Woolly Mammoth. According to the article: ‘the Mammoth was most closely related to the Asian elephant rather than the African Elephant. The three groups split from a common ancestor about six million years ago, with Asian elephants and mammoths diverging about half a million years later.’ This work is tied into efforts by researchers to use DNA to analyze other extinct species, such as the cave bear, the Haast eagle and the American lion. The novel aspect of this latest work is that it involved stitching together almost 50 fragments of mtDNA in order to obtain the sequence as a whole.”

Slashdot | DNA of Woolly Mammoth Fully Sequenced