But Are There Wookiees?

Stuff like the discovery of 28 new planets is always really neat news. Blame it on the Star Wars (and yes, believe me, I've heard about the new Clone Wars!), but I've been fascinated by space since I was a little boy. I remember reading all about the solar system when I was 4, learning about the sun and what will happen when it dies in a few billion years--there was a picture of the effects it would have on Earth, and it looked as though the global warming people were right: it's going to be really freakin' hot in a few million centuries!

The exploration of space has become all the more prominent in recent years, thanks to the amazing increases in technology. Our ability to scan the universe has increased multi-fold in recent decades, and we've been able to discover well over 200 planets that exist beyond our own solar system, something which always raises the question: is there other life out there? Look at a picture such as this, a slightly-larger-than-Earth-sized planet revolving around a star some 20 light-years away, and tell me that the idea doesn't intrigue you just a little bit.