earth

Via Huffington Post:

The irregularly shaped hole spans about 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles) at its widest point, said Dr. C. Alex Young, associate director for science for the heliophysics division at the space agency's Goddard facility in Greenbelt, Maryland. Its total surface area is about 410 times that of the Earth, he said (see below for size comparison).

The lake appears to be a normal one during fall, winter, and a small portion of spring; but during the summer, most of the lake becomes evaporated. Dozens upon dozens of crater-like mineral deposits rest at the bottom of the lake and become visible during the warm weather. The mineral deposits span about 25 feet on average and contain many different concentrations of magnesium sulfate, and calcium/sodium phosphates, which gives them a distinct yellow, orange, green, or blue color.

Scientists looking for signs of life in the universe -- as well as another planet like our own -- are a lot closer to their goal than people realize.

That was the consensus of a panel on the search for life in the universe held at NASA headquarters Monday in Washington. The discussion focused not only on the philosophical question of whether we're alone in the universe but also on the technological advances made in an effort to answer that question.

"We believe we're very, very close in terms of technology and science to actually finding the other Earth and our chance to find signs of life on another world," said Sara Seager, a MacArthur Fellow and professor of planetary science and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Blue: East to West wind direction Red: West to East wind direction

I hope lizards take over the world.