NASA’s Kepler space telescope has detected two extrasolar planets that are not much larger than Earth, and possibly smaller, making them the smallest exoplanets found to date.

The two planets orbit the same star, which astronomers have named Kepler-20. Located about 945 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, Kepler-20 is approximately 90 percent the size of our sun.

The two newly discovered exoplanets — designated Kepler-20 e and Kepler-20 f — have radii of 1.03 and 0.87 times the Earth and zip around their parent star in just 6.1 and 19.6 days, respectively. The previous record holder for ...

If you’re the type who plans your holiday decor with CAD, or programs synchronized light shows conducted by a robo-Santa in the front yard, you probably also wish your yule log could be a little more high-tech. And a flatscreen version won’t do — you’re too traditional.

The Light ‘n Go Yule Log adds a dash of old-fashioned thermodynamic physics to a Christmas tradition. With strategically placed cuts and channels and paraffin-coated paperboard wick tucked into one end of a kiln-dried, heat-treated log of Estonian origin, the ultimate yule log lights with a single match — an easy out for those w...