Messenger

NASA:

The recent flyby of Mercury by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has given scientists an entirely new look at a planet once thought to have characteristics similar to those of Earth's moon. Researchers are amazed by the wealth of images and data that show a unique world with a diversity of geological processes and a very different magnetosphere from the one discovered and sampled more than 30 years ago.

Dark Matter

No, this one's not about the Bush Administration!

Exciting news from the world of science!

Guardian:

A halo detected around a distant cluster of galaxies is the strongest evidence yet for dark matter, the cosmic scaffold around which the planets and stars form, astronomers said today.

The discovery is a milestone in a 70-year search for a substance that has never been seen yet accounts for nearly all of the mass in the universe. Because it does not reflect or emit radiation, dark matter has proved impossible to observe directly, even with the most advanced telescopes.

The discovery was announced today at a Nasa press conference in Washington.