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The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog is a database of the planets outside our solar system which are considered the most suitable for life according to certain steps and metrics. So far 16 have been identified as possible candidates. This Guardian article is a good introduction. You can also just dive into the catalogue, which ranks planets on two main scales, similarity to Earth and surface habitability (note that all images are computer renderings). The catalog is a project of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at University of Puerto Rico in Arecibo (home to the world's largest radiotelescope).
posted by Kattullus on Dec 5, 2011 - 42 comments

This Summer’s Sexiest Images From Saturn. From a billion miles away, the Cassini spacecraft continues to send spectacular images of Saturn and its moons. Cassini has been flying since 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004 after flybys of Earth, Venus and Jupiter. Its mission was originally slated to end in 2008, but it got its first 27 month extension to witness Saturn’s equinox. This year, it was given another life extension until 2017 to keep exploring until Saturn’s northern hemisphere summer solstice. [previously] [more inside]
posted by netbros on Sep 4, 2010 - 21 comments

Two Moons Passing in the Night. Mars rover Spirit took these sequential photos of Martian moons Phobos and Deimos passing overhead in the night sky. Those rovers are still going strong!
posted by brownpau on Sep 10, 2005 - 17 comments

There is a heppy lend, fur, fur a-wa-a-ay - Sure as moons is cheeses
posted by y2karl on Apr 28, 2003 - 28 comments

Names of the Full Moons We are now 4 days past the Snow Moon, and this year it's easy to see (at least here in northern Virginia) why it was so named. It was also called the Hunger Moon... [more inside]
posted by Irontom on Mar 3, 2003 - 9 comments

Ringed Uranus with its moons : I love it that one moon is named Puck. ( courtesy Robot Wisdom)
posted by y2karl on Dec 31, 2002 - 18 comments

Swan song for a great explorer. Tomorow, the Galileo explorer will make a flyby of Jovian moon Amalthea ending pehaps the geatest unmanned mission in NASA history. Galileo telemetry may not survive the flyby having already receieved much more radiation than it was designed for. Even if it does survive, this will be its final orbit scheduled to crash into Jupiter in September of next year. In spite of antenna difficulties, the spacecraft returned many beautiful images of Jupiter's moons, along with coverage of the Shoemaker-Levy collision and the first atmospheric probe to decend into Jupiter's weather.
posted by KirkJobSluder on Nov 3, 2002 - 9 comments

Interesting hypothesis that Europa's seas are swimming with bacteria. Preliminary results show that all three species, the ordinary gut bacteria Escherichia coli, and extremophiles Deinococcus radiodurans and Sulfolobus shibatae, are just as good at explaining Europa's IR spectrum as the [magnesium sulphate] salts.
posted by skallas on Dec 13, 2001 - 10 comments

Once in a blue moon. Not only will the full moon on Halloween be the first in 40(i think) and the last for another 19 years, it is also a 'blue moon' which means that the moon is full twice in the same month. Notwithstanding any MeFi visitors from Detroit, are you feeling strange yet?
posted by donkeysuck on Oct 30, 2001 - 25 comments

NASA proposes visit to Saturn's moons via blimp. Native Titans debunk UFO as weather balloon. More space balloons here. (via robotwisdom)
posted by skallas on Jul 1, 2001 - 1 comment

Your-anus doesn't have the most moon anymore, Saturn does. 22. haha.
posted by tiaka on Oct 27, 2000 - 5 comments

"clouds and even rain showers seem to have been spotted on Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Scientists have already labeled Titan a hot spot in the search for extraterrestrial life, and the new work adds to that enthusiasm." You bet it does.
posted by owillis on Oct 20, 2000 - 10 comments