Out of This World! - Super-Earth, France Releases X-Files, Hawking Flies

There's been a flurry of activity in and around our atmosphere this week and I didn't have the time to come and document it all as it happened, so I collected me a buncha these bookmarks and now I'm gonna lay it all down for you:

• Scientists have discovered a "super-Earth" near the Gliese star about 20.5 light years from the Libra Constellation. This is unrelated to the planet recently discovered in the Pegasus Constellation which they claim may also have water. According to scientists, models suggest the planet should either be mountainous or oceanic. The exoplanet is the smallest they've discovered yet and has been given the name, Gliese 581 C.
• France has set up a website on which it has organized some 50+ years' worth of UFO (called ONVIs in France) reports, including scanned police reports. The server crashed hours after the announcement due to high traffic. The CNES handles over 1500 UFO or ONVI cases annually. About 25% of these are labeled "Class D," meaning there is no official explanation. About 10% of the total cases result in on-site investigation.
• Science maven, Stephen Hawking, went 0-G for up to 4 minutes yesterday in the "vomit comet." He is hoping to go into space in 2009, when Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic starts. It will take private citizens into space for a hefty sum - about $200k!

© C Harris Lynn, 2007-08