Detecting Distant Planets: More than 400 planets have been detected outside the solar system, most of which have masses similar to that of the gas giant planet, Jupiter. Borucki et al. (p. 977 , published online 7 January) summarize the planetary findings derived from the first six weeks of observations with the Kepler mission whose objective is to search for and determine the frequency of Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of other stars. The results include the detection of five new exoplanets, which confirm the existence of planets with densities substantially lower than those predicted for gas giant planets.

To aid in the physical interpretation of planetary radii constrained through observations of transiting planets, or eventually direct detections, we compute model radii of pure hydrogen-helium, water, rock, and iron planets, along with various mixtures. Masses ranging from 0.01 Earth masses to 10 Jupiter masses at orbital distances of 0.02 to 10 AU are considered. For hydrogen-helium rich planets, our models are the first to couple planetary evolution to stellar irradiation over a wide range of orbital separations (0.02 to 10 AU) through a non-gray radiative-convective equilibrium atmosphere model. Stellar irradiation retards the contraction of giant planets, but its effect is not a simple function of the irradiation level: a planet at 1 AU contracts as slowly as a planet at 0.1 AU. For hydrogen-helium planets, we consider cores up to 90% of the total planet mass, comparable to those of Uranus and Neptune. If "hot Neptunes" have maintained their original masses and are not remnants of more massive planets, radii of 0.30-0.45 times Jupiter's radius are expected. Water planets are ~40-50% larger than rocky planets, independent of mass. Finally, we provide tables of planetary radii at various ages and compositions, and for ice-rock-iron planets we fit our results to analytic functions, which will allow for quick composition estimates, given masses and radii, or mass estimates, given only planetary radii. These results will assist in the interpretation of observations for both the current transiting planet surveys as well as upcoming space missions, including CoRoT and Kepler.

The Cassini spacecraft detected signs of recent methane rainfall on Titan’s arid equatorial surface.

We investigate the long-term dynamical stability of hypothetical moons orbiting extrasolar giant planets. Stellar tides brake a planet's rotation and, together with tidal migration, act to remove satellites; this process limits the lifetimes of larger moons in extrasolar planetary systems. Because more massive satellites are removed more quickly than less massive ones, we are able to derive an upper mass limit for those satellites that might have survived to the present day. For example, we estimate that no primordial satellites with masses greater than 7 x 10^{-7} M_Earth$ (~ \70km radius for rho=3 g cm^{-3}) could have survived around the transiting planet HD209458b for the age of the system. No meaningful mass limits can be placed on moons orbiting Jovian planets more than ~0.6 AU from their parent stars. Earth-like moons of Jovian planets could exist for 5 Gyr in systems where the stellar mass is greater than 0.15 M_Sun. Transits show the most promise for the discovery of extrasolar moons -- we discuss prospects for satellite detection via transits using space-based photometric surveys and the limits on the planetary tidal dissipation factor Q that a discovery would imply.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Aug 20 Ap

NASA’s Dragonfly mission will send a rotorcraft lander to the surface of Titan in the mid-2030s. Dragonfly's science themes include investigation of Titan’s prebiotic chemistry, habitability, and potential chemical biosignatures from both water-based “life as we know it” (as might occur in the interior mantle ocean, potential cryovolcanic flows, and/or impact melt deposits) and potential “life, but not as we know it” that might use liquid hydrocarbons as a solvent (within Titan’s lakes, seas, and/or aquifers). Consideration of both of these solvents simultaneously led to our initial landing site in Titan’s equatorial dunes and interdunes to sample organic sediments and water ice, respectively. Ultimately, Dragonfly's traverse target is the 80 km diameter Selk Crater, at 7° N, where we seek previously liquid water that has mixed with surface organics. Our science goals include determining how far prebiotic chemistry has progressed on Titan and what molecules and elements might be available for such chemistry. We will also determine the role of Titan’s tropical deserts in the global methane cycle. We will investigate the processes and processing rates that modify Titan’s surface geology and constrain how and where organics and liquid water can mix on and within Titan. Importantly, we will search for chemical biosignatures indicative of past or extant biological processes. As such, Dragonfly, along with Perseverance, is the first NASA mission to explicitly incorporate the search for signs of life into its mission goals since the Viking landers in 1976.