-- Flying faster than the speed of light just might be possible after all: Discusses the CERN experiment that found neutrinos may have been traveling faster than light.
-- The best candidate for finding life on another world has been pinpointed by astronomers: Notes how the Kepler telescope found Kepler 22-b, a planet 600 lights years away that is about 2.4 times the size of earth and sits within the "goldilocks zone." With an average surface temperature of 22C (72 F), a solar orbit of 290 Earth days, and the possibility of water, the newly identified planet may be able to harbor life as we know it.
-- Mars continue to be a tricky place to reach: The article notes that of the past 38 Mars missions, 19 have failed. The Russian's most recent failure was not encouraging.
-- We learned that the Higgs boson really does exist: Scientists reported earlier in December that the Higgs boson, or the substance that gives all other particles their mass, may have been found. This offers some important insights into the origins of our universe.
Yes, it has been a pretty interesting year. Now if we could only find a way to travel faster than light, we might have a chance to explore worlds such as Kepler 22-b. Of course, we may need to do a better job getting to Mars before we worry about traveling elsewhere in the galaxy.
