Weakening Plumes

The geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus are less active than they were when discovered in 2005-- down 30 to 50 percent.

Scientists don't know why.

Water On Hot Jupiters

Hot Jupiters have been seen as oddly dry, but a new study suggests water on those worlds exists as vapor in clouds rather than as liquid.

Such worlds are far too hot to support life.

Dwarf Flares

Astronomers have found a red dwarf star 35 light years away emits flares 10,000 times more powerful than the Sin does.

If red dwarfs generally do that, it will limit their ability to support life.

Star Storm

Astronomers using the Kepler spacecraft and the Spitzer Space Telescope have found a huge storm in the upper atmosphere of a brown dwarf.

The storm looks to be similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.

Checking Kepler

A new study suggests that over half of the bigger exoplanet candidates found by NASA's Kepler probe are in fact stars or brown dwarfs.

Scientists are confident, however, that a much higher percentage of the smaller, Earth-like candidates will be confirmed.

No Laser Signal

No laser signal from the "alien megastructire" star pointed this way has been detected so far.

Of course, there's no obvious reason such a signal would be aimed at Earth. but the case for a civilization around that star is weakening.

Ceres' Bright Spots

The best current explanation of the mysterious bright spots on the dwarf planet Ceres, according to a new study, seems to be that they are deposits of salt-- Epsom salt, to be precise.

Ceres also seems to have huge reserves of water underground.