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By AARON MACKEY A historic chemistry test of Mars' arctic surface suggests the red planet is capable of supporting plants and microscopic life, though scientists with the UA-led Phoenix Mars lander were careful to qualify their initial findings Thursday. At the least, though, the test shows that Mars' arctic dirt is a lot like fertile soil in people's backyards and could be well- suited to grow such vegetables as asparagus. Calling it the first-ever wet chemistry test of another planet's...

Thanks to a fortunate observation with NASA's Swift satellite, astronomers, for the first time, have caught a normal supernova at the moment of its birth--the first instant when an exploding star begins spewing its energy into space, transforming into a supernova that during its brief lifetime will shine brighter than billions of stars combined. Until this discovery, the only supernovae glimpsed during their first moments were the more rare kind--the ones whose birth cries are drowned out by...