Follow-up observations are also being planned using other ground-based instruments, as well as several space observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope and the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope.

MSN: Newly discovered alien planet 'resets the bar for weird'

Mr. COWING: Well, first of all, contrary to the complaint that this money's being spent in outer space, there are no banks, there are no stores up there.

NPR: Is the Space Shuttle Worth the Effort?

The factory floor space at Marlin Steel is being doubled and there is no doubt the company is doing well, prospering even, during the bad years.

BBC: What does the future hold for American manufacturing?

Kaplan recognizes the historical cartooning that these essentially forgotten guys were given to, and sees as well the risks of a too neat determinism of space sees it, but does not totally avoid being seduced by it.

NEWYORKER: Faces, Places, Spaces