[Wednesday, February 2, 2011] A large number of Kepler light curves became public Feb 1-2 2011. All tar files of public data have been recreated to include all public data.

[Wednesday, February 2, 2011] Rare fragments of Martian meteorites have been investigated at the University of Leicester revealing one of the ways water flowed near the surface of Mars.

[Wednesday, February 2, 2011] A remarkable planetary system discovered by NASA's Kepler mission has six planets around a Sun-like star, including five small planets in tightly packed orbits.

[Wednesday, February 2, 2011] Scientists using NASA's Kepler, a space telescope, recently discovered six planets made of a mix of rock and gases orbiting a single sun-like star, known as Kepler-11, which is located approximately 2,000 light years from Earth.

[Wednesday, February 2, 2011] Is our Milky Way galaxy home to other planets the size of Earth? Are Earth-sized planets common or rare? NASA scientists seeking answers to those questions recently revealed their discovery.

[Wednesday, February 2, 2011] What might the sky look like on one of these worlds that Kepler has discovered? Planetary scientist and space artist Dan Durda has a bunch of ideas.

[Thursday, February 3, 2011] Two studies demonstrate how the unique capabilities of the world's first hard X-ray free-electron laser--the Linac Coherent Light Source, located at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory--could revolutionize the study of life.

[Thursday, February 3, 2011] A breakthrough has been reported detailing a new method developed to determine structures of biomolecules based on diffraction from protein nanocrystals that are so small that they are not even visible under the microscope.

[Friday, February 4, 2011] The blurring effects of Titan's aerosols are obvious in this image, where the orange moon peeks from behind two of Saturn's rings.

[Tuesday, February 8, 2011] Surprising new research shows that, contrary to conventional belief, remains of chitin-protein complex--structural materials containing protein and polysaccharide--are present in abundance in fossils of arthropods from the Paleozoic era.

[Tuesday, February 8, 2011] Researchers have discovered the 100 million-year-old ancestor of a group of large, carnivorous, cricket-like insects that still live today in southern Asia, northern Indochina and Africa.

[Tuesday, February 8, 2011] NASA will host about 100 registered people to go "behind-the scenes" and learn about planetary discoveries announced last week by the Kepler mission and science flights conducted by SOFIA aircraft.

[Wednesday, February 9, 2011] The Editorial Board of Gravitational and Space Biology is now soliciting two-page reports for publication in the next issue of the Journal.

[Thursday, February 10, 2011] Finding life on Mars could get easier with a creative adaption to a common analytical tool that can be installed directly on the robotic arm of a space rover.

[Thursday, February 10, 2011] Atmospheric temperature and mixing ratio profiles of terrestrial planets vary with the spectral energy flux distribution for different types of M-dwarf stars and the planetary gravity.

[Monday, February 14, 2011] NASA announced Monday an $18.7 billion budget request for fiscal year 2012 that supports a reinvigorated path of innovation, technological development and scientific discovery.

[Tuesday, February 15, 2011] Scientists aboard the Royal Research Ship James Cook have discovered a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the chilly waters of the Southern Ocean.

[Wednesday, February 16, 2011] Alas, NASA was unable to find a way to link to that video then and I doubt that they will find a way to link to this one now. I would very much like to be proven wrong - but I am not holding my breath.

[Thursday, February 17, 2011] Plants are fundamental to life on Earth, converting light and carbon dioxide into food and oxygen. Plant growth may be an important part of human survival in exploring space, as well.

[Saturday, February 19, 2011] NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, will carry a next generation, onboard "chemical element reader" to measure the chemical ingredients in Martian rocks and soil.

[Sunday, February 20, 2011] New evidence bolsters the notion that deep saline groundwaters in South Africa's Witwatersrand Basin may have remained isolated for many thousands, perhaps even millions, of years.

[Thursday, February 24, 2011] Using ESO's Very Large Telescope an international team of astronomers has been able to study the short-lived disc of material around a young star that is in the early stages of making a planetary system.