Hi there!
It is almost impossible to keep up with all the latest goings on in Astronomy, Cosmology and Psychics, every day there are advances, new theories are formed and old theories are challenged replaced sometimes re-replaced ...which makes it such an exciting area of interest. Science ...especially the branches of Astronomy and Cosmology...is not at all the boring sedate world that it is sometimes perceived to be. But there again, I have to full admit it, I am biased.
Oh, how times have changed, and in just a few short years.
So on with the news.....

Latest News (Updated February 5th 2012)

ESA'S Mars Express spacecraft is now operating normally after some of its science observations were suspended last October following a series of faults. Mission controllers have been troubleshooting problems related to data storage onboard the probe, which has been orbiting Mars since 2003.

NASA's Kepler mission has discovered 11 new planetary systems hosting 26 confirmed planets. These discoveries nearly double the number of verified Kepler planets and triple the number of stars known to have more than one planet that transits, or passes in front of, the star. Such systems will help astronomers better understand how planets form.

Mars may have been arid for more than 600 million years, making it too hostile for any life to survive on the planet's surface, according to researchers who have been carrying out the painstaking task of analysing individual particles of Martian soil. Dr Tom Pike, from Imperial College London, will discuss the team's analysis at a European Space Agency (ESA) meeting on

An International team of scientists led by Carnegie's Guillem Anglada-Escudé and Paul Butler has discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star. The star is a member of a triple star system and has a different makeup than our Sun, being relatively lacking in metallic elements. This discovery demonstrates that habitable planets could form in a greater variety of environments than previously believed.

Cosmos the great Carl Sagan's signature PBS science show will be getting a 'sequel' series in 2013 starring the brilliant Neil DeGrasse Tyson - whom some (including myself) consider to be a sequel to Carl Sagan himself. On second thoughts I can wait no sense in hurrying up life - now is there!

• NASA'a new kid on the block is well and truely on its way to the red planet. Curiosity will have us all oohing and ahhing come August 2012 when it lands on our neighbour right smack in the middle of the Olympics sport season.
• The Lego versions of Galileo Galilei and the mythical couple Juno and Jupiter accompany NASA's Juno spacecraft on it's trip to Jupiter. Don't know why they decided to do that seems a daft idea to me, but I suppose Lego payed a handsome price for the two passengers and whatever rocks your boat - as they say!
• A new breakthrough gets physics one step closer to a working invisibility cloak, further details are un-available - top secret and all that.
• Caltech researchers announced that a dwarf planet nicknamed Snow White has ice and possibly methane on its surface.
• Earth's Twin is at last discovered, at least that's what all the headlines said on Tuesday 6th December 2011. Kepler discovered the gem and it has been confirmed - more about this at another time.

Latest News (Updated Nov 2011)

The end of the space shuttle program does not mean the end of NASA, or even of NASA sending humans into space. NASA has a robust program of exploration, technology development and scientific research that will last for years to come. Here is what's next for NASA:
NASA is designing and building the capabilities to send humans to explore the solar system, working toward a goal of landing humans on Mars. They will build the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, based on the design for the Orion capsule, with a capacity to take four astronauts on 21-day missions.
The International Space Station is the centerpiece of their human spaceflight activities in low Earth orbit. The ISS is fully staffed with a crew of 6, and American astronauts will continue to live and work there in space 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Part of the U.S. portion of the station has been designated as a national laboratory, and NASA is committed to using this unique resource for scientific research....we are all behind you NASA, and if you need anyone to fill in at anytime then I'm your woman.

OK, so assuming that you read the above now this is the latest:
WASHINGTON — Faced with a shrinking budget, NASA’s Planetary Science Division is instituting a strict new approval process for extended missions, and not even marquee probes such as the Cassini Saturn orbiter will be exempt from scrutiny, a senior agency official said. The multibillion-dollar Cassini orbiter, part of an international collaboration between NASA and the European and Italian space agencies, completed its primary mission in June 2008 but continues to return scientific data under an extended mission that is expected to cost $60 million in 2012 alone. James Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said the future of Cassini and at least eight other ongoing missions including Mars rovers and a Venus orbiter will be placed under the microscope by senior planetary scientists in March. The panel is to hand in its recommendations shortly thereafter", he said.

G.R.A.I.L
NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory using a precision formation-flying technique, the twin GRAIL (great name by the way) spacecraft will map the Moon's gravity field. Radio signals traveling between the two spacecraft provide scientists the exact measurements required as well as flow of information not interrupted when the spacecraft are at the lunar farside, not seen from Earth. The result should be the most accurate gravity map of the Moon ever made. The mission also will answer longstanding questions about Earth's moon, including the size of a possible inner core, and it should provide scientists with a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. GRAIL is a part of NASA's Discovery Program.

Herschel discovers Oxygen Molecules in Orion Nebula. The Swedish 'Odin' telescope spotted the molecule in 2007, but the sighting could not be confirmed, until now.
The Herschel Space Observatory's large telescope and state-of-the-art infrared detectors confirmed the find of oxygen molecules and I am sure there was loud celebration from the 'Odin' researchers. The molecules were discovered in the Orion star-forming complex.
Individual atoms of oxygen are common in space, particularly around massive stars. But molecular oxygen, which makes up about 20 percent of the air we breathe, has eluded astronomers until now.
Oxygen Gas (yes, it is a gas) was discovered in the 1770's but it has taken more than 230 years to say with certainty that this very simple molecule exists in space. It is proposed that Oxygen is locked up in water ice that coats tiny dust grains, and that the oxygen detected by Herschel in the Orion Nebula was formed after starlight warmed the icy grains, releasing water, which is converted into oxygen molecules.
Oxygen is the 3rd most common element in the Universe and because of this its molecular form has to be abundant everywhere throughout the Universe. What else will the amazing Herschel discover one wonders ....and I for one just cannot wait to find out!

Earth's Trojan Asteroid

This artist's concept illustrates the first known Earth Trojan Asteroid, discovered by WISE( Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) . The asteroid is gray and its extreme orbit is shown in green.
Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet near stable points in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit as the planet, they never can collide with it. In our solar system, Trojans also share orbits with Neptune, Mars and Jupiter. Two of Saturn's moons share orbits with Trojans .Scientists had predicted Earth should have Trojans, but they have been difficult to find because they are relatively small and appear near the Sun from Earth's point of view.
The WISE telescope scanned the entire sky in infrared light from January 2010 to February 2011. The WISE team of experts began their search for an Earth Trojan using data from NEOWISE, an addition to the WISE mission that focused in part on Near-Earth Objects, or NEO's, such as asteroids and comets. NEO's are bodies that pass within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) of Earth's path around the sun. The NEOWISE project observed more than a staggering 155,000 asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and more than 500 NEO's, discovering 132 that were previously unknown.
Earth's newly discovered companion is roughly 1,000 feet (300 meters) in diameter. The object is about 50 million miles (80 million kilometers) from Earth. The asteroid's orbit is well-defined and for at least the next 100 years, it will not come closer to Earth than 15 million miles (24 million kilometers). At least that is one NEO we don't have to worry about...or should it be called an FEO
(Far Earth Object) ?
To see a video click into this NASA Trojan video , the video really puts it all into perspective

Well lets face it ...we all knew it was gonna happen some day ...water discovered on Mars. I know the photo doesn't exactly look much but it is tangible proof that the wet stuff is really present on our favorite neighbor. Dark, finger-like features appear and extend down some Martian slopes during late spring through summer, fade in winter, and return during the next spring. Repeated observations have tracked the seasonal changes in these recurring features on several steep slopes in the middle latitudes of Mars' southern hemisphere....bottom line...there is water on Mars.

Vesta
Ok so it doesn't set the standars for beauty, but Vesta is special in that it took a lot of expertise, money and time to actuially get to this spot in our Solar System. After traveling nearly 4 years and 1.7 billion miles (2.8 billion kilometers), Dawn has been captured by Vesta's gravity, and there currently are 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) between the asteroid and the spacecraft. The giant asteroid and its new neighbor are approximately 114 million miles (184 million kilometers) away from Earth. Dawn launched in September 2007. Following a year at Vesta, the spacecraft will depart in July 2012 for Ceres...yet another great lump of astroid rock... , where it will arrive in 2015. Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

It really does look THE business. The VSS Enterprise. (Virgin Galactic) looks every inch the future of Space Travel .Virgin Galactic, the first-ever commercial space travel provider, seeks to hire a Pilot-Astronaut or three for its pioneer program. The company is looking for a few good men (or women) to participate in its WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShip Two space flight test systems in Mojave, Calif., and then eventually take on commercial flights out of its Spaceport in New Mexico, according to a Virgin Galactic news release. Wish I could afford a ticket ..hint hint ...anyone!