WORLD NEWS:8 new planets found in 'Goldilocks zone'

The "Does human life exist beyond Earth" debate just scored another talking point with the discovery of eight new planets within the so-called "Goldilocks" -- or habitable -- zone of their stars.

Astronomers with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, or CfA, announced their findings at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

To be considered habitable, exoplanets must orbit within a distance of their stars in which liquid water can exist on the planet's surface, receiving about as much sunlight as Earth.

Hence the Goldilocks zone: Too much sunlight and the water would boil away as steam, too little, and the water would freeze.

Among the eight, scientists say two are the most similar to Earth of any known exoplanets to date.

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POLITICS NEWS:Lamido, Dickson, other govs shun Jonathan’s campaign inauguration

There was apprehension among members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja following the absence of some of the governors of the party at the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Organisation of the party in Abuja on Tuesday. The organisation, headed by a former National Chairman of the party, Sen. Amadu Ali, is saddled with the responsibility of selling the candidacy of President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, to Nigerians for the February 14 presidential election. Only a handful of the governors were in attendance, while about half of them did not show up for the occasion. Among the governors at the event were Emmanuel Uduaghan(Delta), Gabriel Suswam(Benue), Isa Yuguda(Bauchi), James Ngilari (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu(Niger) and Ibrahim Dankwambo( Gombe State). However, governors Theodore Orji(Abia), Dr. Olusegun Mimiko(Ondo), Sullivan Chime(Enugu), Seriake Dickson(Bayelsa), Martin Elechi(Enugu) were absent from the inauguration. Also n...

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