Astronomers Neil deGrasse Tyson and Mark Sykes recently debated what it takes for a solar object to be classified as a planet, but failed to reach a consensus. Maybe it could be be put to a popular vote, based on an observation made by Tyson: He added that Americans are much more attached to Pluto than people elsewhere. "If you go to Europe and talk about Pluto they look at ... Read full entry

Solar systems such as ours, that is systems better suited to supporting life bearing planets, may constitute just one per cent of the star systems in the galaxy. That still makes for a galaxy teeming with Star Wars type life and species though, given the vast number of stars in the Milky Way. Our solar system is a Goldilocks among planetary systems. Conditions have to be just right ... Read full entry

A collection of retro style posters advertising travel to all the planets of the Solar System. The Midnight Zephyr that does the Earth, Saturn, and Pluto loop looks particularly cool.

And on the subject of outer space... an incredible collection of photos and short animations of Jupiter, and its four major moons. Stunning.

Don't how I missed this, but apparently the Solar System's outermost "member", Pluto, together with co-dwarf planet Eris, have now been deemed "plutoids" rather than planets. I know Pluto lost its status as a fully-fledged planet sometime ago, but it seems I'm not the only one miffed by the new plutoid designation... Last week, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) designated Pluto and its cousin Eris as "plutoids". "It sounds ... Read full entry

Largest extrasolar planetary system discovered. I think the time to leave our planetary cradle is fast approaching. It's time we got out of the house, began looking around the (galactic) neighbourhood, and met a few of the people on the other side of the fence (ok, a friendly term for the yawning abyss between stars). It seems there's houses (ok, planets) in the next valley (as it were), so why not ... Read full entry