The most common element in the Universe is hydrogen, and much of that is molecular hydrogen, where two atoms are bonded together. Scientists have long puzzled over the question of why all this molecular hydrogen is out there in space. Researchers from Ohio State University might have found the answer. They've developed a simulation that shows how molecular hydrogen is more likely to form on interstellar grains of dust which are bumpy, and not smooth.

A Zenit-3SL rocket blasted off from the Sea Launch platform today, carrying the Intelsat Americas-8 communications satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The rocket lifted off from the floating platform at 1403 UTC (10:03 am EDT), and the Block DM-SL upper stage separated without a hitch. The IA-8 satellite will provide broadcast and data services to the Americas, Caribbean, Hawaii and Alaska.

Few celestial events attract such widespread media attention as what is inappropriately named a planetary alignment. Because of their orbits and distances from the sun, the planets do not actually line up. Occasionally however, two or more planets do appear to gather close together in the sky as seen from here on Earth. An event such as this is known as a planetary conjunction. Late June offers observers, especially those in the northern hemisphere, a chance to witness just such a conjunction of Mercury, Venus and Saturn.

Vacation time's arrived. You're in the car driving to your little piece of heaven. Then, from the depths of the back seat you hear those dreaded words, "I'm bored". Then comes the exchange of verbal barbs that may or may not end with you turning the car around. There are alternatives. Keep your eyes on the road and your mind flying with space books. John Starke's Glow in the Dark Planets and Melanie Melton Knocke's From Blue Moons to Black Holes are just what you need to shrink travel time.

The New Horizons mission to Pluto has been called ?The First Mission to the Last Planet,? and it?s the first mission to venture to a ?new? planet since the Voyager missions nearly 30 years ago. While New Horizons includes proven technology and a superior launch vehicle, it could be considered to be a ?throw-back? mission. Some of the scientific instruments on board are named after characters from the 1950?s television show, ?The Honeymooners,? and the project?s Principal Investigator, Dr. Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute, says the mission makes him feel like he?s back in the heyday 1960?s or 1970?s of space exploration because this mission is all about exploring planets for the first time.

Physicists at MIT have successfully created a new form of matter in their laboratory; a gas that shows superfluidity at higher temperatures. Superfluid gasses, which can flow without resistance, have been created before, but only at very cold temperatures just above Absolute Zero. Matter like this could exist in the Universe's most extreme places, like at the heart of black holes, neutron stars, or in the early stages of the Big Bang.

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a detailed image of a narrow, dusty ring around nearby star Fomalhaut. Although they can't see it directly, astronomers think a planet has been tugging at the ring with its gravity. According to researchers, the shape and position of the ring couldn't exist without a planet. This is similar to the twists and knots that NASA's Cassini spacecraft has photographed in Saturn's rings, which are caused by its shepherd moons.

Astronomers have discovered a binary system of a blue giant and a pulsar that operate as a natural particle accelerator, raising the energy levels of simple photons to some of the highest possible energies. The discovery was made by while watching how the pulsar periodically passes through disk of material ejected by the rapidly spinning blue giant. Each time the pulsar sweeps through this material, its intense magnetic field interacts with the ejected material and boosts photons from regular visible light into the range of super-high gamma rays which blast out in all directions. Some of this radiation interacts with our atmosphere, which is why we can detect it here on Earth.

All three MARSIS booms on Mars Express are now fully deployed, and the spacecraft is ready to begin searching Mars for underground sources of ice and water. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) consists of two 20-metre (66 foot) and one 7-metre (23 foot) boom. Controllers turned on the radar and performed a brief test, but they're still planning on an extensive commissioning phase until July 4, when the instrument will be ready for full operations.

New images taken by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft show the actual nucleus of its target, Comet Tempel 1. The nucleus is the heart of the comet, and largely composed of ice and rock. Surrounding that is a halo of gas and dust that largely obscures the view. Tempel 1 isn't a sphere, but an oblong potato-shaped object, 14 km (9 miles) long by 4.8 km (3 miles) wide. By continuing to watch the nucleus as it approaches, Deep Impact will provide scientists with a better idea of the comet's rotation and orientation, so they can fine tune the final collision on July 4.

Biographies of peoples lives can come off as a dated list of achievements and events. With a subject like Story Musgrave, who has more awards and accomplishments than most, such a list almost clamours to be made. Ignoring this call, Ann Lenehan in her book Story - The Way of Water, presents the person behind the awards. The emotions, philosophy and wishes of an over achiever and a very sensitive, warm individual.

When you look into the night sky with your eyes, or through a telescope, you're seeing the Universe in the spectrum of visible light. Unfortunately, this is a fraction of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from radio waves to gamma radiation. And that's too bad because different wavelengths are better than others for revealing the mysteries of space. Technology can let us "see" what our eyes can't, and instruments here on Earth and in space can detect these different kinds of radiation. The submillimeter wavelength is part of the radio spectrum, and gives us a very good view of objects which are very cold - that's most of the Universe. Paul Ho is with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and an astronomer working in world of the submillimeter. He speaks to me from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Although the Moon will be full, there will be plenty of excitement as we start the week with Mars and end with a wonderful conjunction of Saturn, Venus and Mercury. But that's not all, for there are two comets and two galaxies to study as well a meteor shower. This will be a great week for all observers, so open your eyes to the skies because...

Here's what's up!

NASA's Cassini spacecraft took this image of Saturn's F-ring, with one of its shepherd moons, Pandora also in view. Pandora is only 84 km (52 miles) across, but it clearly has a powerful effect on the ring, causing ripples, knots and twists in the ring from afar. You can see the entire shape of Pandora in this picture, because reflected light from Saturn illuminates the moon's dark side.

Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? This question continues to puzzle scientists, but now Professor David Catling at Bristol University thinks that significant oxygen in the atmosphere and oceans of a distant planet are required for complex organisms to evolve. The fact that it took almost 4 billion years here on Earth means that other planets might not have a lot of time to evolve complex life. Since our Sun still has another 4 billion years before it dies, life has time to flourish, but planets around other, more short-lived stars might not be so lucky.

The unpiloted Progress 18 cargo ship docked with the International Space Station on Saturday, delivering a fresh batch of supplies. The spacecraft nearly connected automatically to the Zvezda Service Module, but Commander Sergei Krikalev had to take over because of communications problems between ground control and the Progress.ship. It's loaded up with food, propellant, oxygen, water, spare parts, and experiment hardware. It also brought along the new camera system that will help astronauts inspect the space shuttle for damage when it docks.

Named after Harvard University astronomer Bart Bok, Bok globules may not be the most romantic sounding phrase in astronomy, but they are widely accepted as an important step in the formation of new stars. Now a team of fourteen astronomers - headed by Ryo Kandori of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan - reports examining ten globules in near-infrared and radio-frequency light along with previously detected data from four others, to determine how many of them are stars in the making...