Friday, October 1, 2010

An Earth-Like Planet Has Been Discovered

A team of astronomers from University of California and Carnegie Institue have discovered a new planet very similar to Earth. This planet, called Gliese 581g, is three times larger than Earth, but it is capable of sustaining life. The planet is 20 light years away from Earth (120 trillion miles). Unlike Earth, which takes 365 days to orbit its star, it only takes 37 days for Gliese 581g to orbit its star.
An artist's idea of what Gliese 581g looks like.

China Launches 2nd Lunar Probe

In Beijing, China, a second lunar exploration probe was launched. The orbiter which the probe was attatched to, called Chang'e-2, set off at a local time of 7 pm (7 am ET) The probe will be expected to come as close to the moon as 9.3 miles. It will also take high-resolution pictures of the moon's Bay Of Rainbows, where China is expecting to land Chang'e-3.
A guard stands near the Chang'e-2 lunar probe.

Mudslide in Mexico

Four landslides in Mexico have taken the lives of 32 people. The south side of Mexico has been receiving lots of rain over the past couple of weeks, which led to the landslides. The most tragic of the four landslides was in Chiapas, where 16 people were killed, and another 13 injuries were reported.

People work to clean up one of the mudslides in Mexico.