Planetary Science in the News

From time to time, this blog will highlight planetary science news stories, particularly if the story quotes or features a woman in planetary science.

Today’s highlight is a story in the Washington Post on exoplanets and the identification of their atmospheres (An ‘Astounding Time’ for Planetary Discoveries, 3/24/08, A5). The story features the work of Mark Swain and colleagues, who recently reported finding an exoplanet with organic methane in its atmosphere.

Sara Seager, exoplanet theorist at MIT, is extensively quoted in the article; she will be online at Washingtonpost.com today at noon to discuss new discoveries of exoplanets.