Word: solarization
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Time was, being an earthling was something special. In a universe full of apparently planetless stars, our colorful solar system seemed like one of a cosmic kind. The planet club became a little less elite last week, however, when astronomers announced the discovery of a Jupiter-like world orbiting a not-too-distant star, a star that could well have an Earth-like planet in its brood...
...been seen orbiting the star. In 1996 Geoffrey Marcy, a professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, and astrophysicist Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington spotted a different Jupiter-size world circling 55 Cancri in a close-up orbit just 10 million miles from the solar fires--closer than little Mercury orbits our own sun. All told, astronomers have found about 90 big planets circling many other stars, either clinging close to their parent's skirt or whipping in and out in irregular, slingshot-like orbits--including what seems to be another planet closely orbiting...
...things that made life on Earth possible in the first place was the looming presence of our sun's fifth planet, whose massive gravity vacuumed up a lot of incoming comets and asteroids, keeping the small inner worlds relatively safe in the shooting gallery that was the early solar system. The clear lane Jupiter created became a sort of orbital sweet spot, where temperatures could remain moderate and volatile substances such as water could persist, giving life a chance to arise. While plenty of stars beyond 55 Cancri and our sun may have their own Jupiter-size planets, their orbits...
...announcement of the arrest in May of José Padilla, an American citizen who converted to Islam and calls himself Abdullah al-Muhajir, and his incarceration in military custody as an "enemy combatant." 55 CANCRI Homely Star Planet hunters at the University of California have found the first solar system that resembles our own. The star, 55 Cancri in the constellation of Cancer, is circled by at least two planets, one similar in size and distance from its star to our own Jupiter. AFGHANISTAN Karzai Keeps Power in A Kabul Compromise Hamid Karzai won a second term as Afghanistan...
...neither were those of his immediate predecessors. All of them and their environmental advisers missed the point. It's not whether we should be exploring for more oil and natural gas on public lands. Instead, we should be investing in technology that promotes renewable fuel sources, such as solar and wind power. Putting our economic and technological muscle into renewable sources will pay far greater benefits than any new drilling plans. BRIAN ILLES Glen Allen...