|  Strange New Worlds: The Amazing Alien Planet Discoveries of 2013  | While astronomers didn't bag that elusive first "alien Earth" in 2013, they made plenty of exciting exoplanet discoveries during the past year. Here's a list of the top exoplanet finds of 2013, from a tiny world about the size of Earth's moon to a blue gas giant on which it rains molten glass: In February, astronomers announced the discovery of Kepler-37b, the smallest alien world ever found around a sun-like star. Kepler-37b, which was spotted by NASA's prolific Kepler space telescope, lies about 215 light-years from Earth.
| Read More » Scientists Petition U.S. Congress for Return to the Moon  | China's Chang'e 3 robotic landing on the moon has helped spur a political crusade in the United States to more aggressively explore and utilize the moon. At the heart of the campaign is the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), a group chartered by NASA Headquarters to assist in planning the scientific exploration of the moon. LEAG is organizing a letter writing campaign to Congress to underscore the importance of the moon. The LEAG scripted strategy is being orchestrated under the banner "Destination Moon" with a key, straightforward goal highlighted in a flyer: "Use the moon to create a sustained human space-faring capability, advancing exploration of the Solar System." [See photos from China's first moon lander and rover] The flyer is to be sent, along with a cover letter, to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees that have influence on NASA funding, and to all the lawmakers of the LEAG executive committee members.
| Read More » 6 Biggest Space Science Discoveries of 2013  | From extrasolar planets to extraterrestrial neutrinos, these finds have made sure that 2013 has been an unforgettable year. NASA's Voyager 1 reaches interstellar space After almost 35 years of traveling, scientists reported this year that NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft reached interstellar space in August 2012. Because the solar system doesn't contain helpful "You Are Here" signs to mark its boundary, scientists relied on a powerful solar eruption to determine the density of the molecules in space around the craft.
| Read More » What We Learned About Human Origins in 2013  | The existence of a mysterious ancient human lineage and the possibility that the earliest humans were actually all one species were among the human-evolution-related discoveries of 2013. Other breakthroughs include the sequencing of the oldest human DNA yet. Recent analyses of fossil DNA have revealed that modern humans occasionally had sex and produced offspring not only with Neanderthals but also with Denisovans, a relatively newfound lineage whosegenetic signatureapparently extended from Siberia to the Pacific islands of Oceania.
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