For years, Spitzer peered through dusty clouds at untold stars and galaxies, uncovered a huge, nearly invisible ring around Saturn, and helped discover seven Earth-size planets around a nearby star.

Astronomers searching for life beyond our solar system may need to look no farther than a little, feeble nearby star.

Do you remember in October when a strange star had scientists talking about "aliens"? Though they've come up with a possible explanation, they still haven't solved the mystery.