Here’s an activity for couples both old and young. Benefits include hanging out in the dark and not talking. The best meteor shower of the year will begin on Wednesday around 9 PM and will get even better into the early hours of Thursday morning. So why not spend your night outside, on a blanket in some cold, dark, rural field with your sweetie (and perhaps some spirits) to warm you up? If it totally sucks, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to wish on a star that you’re somewhere else - maybe even somewhere warmer, louder, and, dare I say, more fun.

Although the jury is still out on whether there is, or ever was, water on Mars, the best evidence yet to support the case was released today. New images show that water could have flowed on the planet within the last seven years. While not quite canals,changes in two “gullies” suggest liquid water may have flowed on Mars’ surface recently and may still squirt out periodically. When comparing images of the planet’s surface collected since 2000, new, lightly colored areas were found which could be sediment deposited by recent water flow. And any indication of liquid water gets everyone excited about the potentiality of life on Mars. But, hey, I’m thinking two steps ahead. Dead life on Mars could mean fossil fuels. So, why not start our interplanetary empire with some good old fashioned, industrial-style air pollution?

Closer to home, you have likely heard of NASA’s new plan to colonize the moon by 2024. The plan is not only to have permanent presence on the moon, but to eventually use it as a spaceport for travellers on their way to more distant locations. The spaceport would not only be a rockin’ slumber party, but hydrogen and oxygen mined from the lunar surface could also be used to make the water and rocket fuel required for long-distance spaceflight… And maybe we’ll find gold there too, so the astronauts can travel in style while they’re on the way to mine for oil on Mars.

Even closer to home, Thursday’s planned nighttime launch of the space shuttle Discovery will likely be delayed due to cloudy conditions. The mission is planned to be an 12-day round trip to the International Space Station. If the shuttle does launch on Thursday night, and you’re on the East Coast of USA from Florida to New York, you may be able to see the launch in the night sky. It should appear as a pulsating, orange shooting star several minutes after liftoff. If you miss the launch (or if it’s delayed), the same effect can likely be achieved by sitting on the side of the road and waiting for someone to throw a cigarette at you (which, I might add, is littering).

And, on a much underappreciated planet Earth, new satellite data shows that global warming is likely causing a decrease in marine life. The overall warming of the planet results in warmer oceans, which have now been linked to a decrease in phytoplankton, tiny marine plants which are at the root of the marine food web. Who’s surprised that this story that got the least press this week? Doom and gloom just doesn’t seem to be popular these days. The gloomiest part is that this finding could result in a viscous cycle, where increased carbon dioxide levels cause global warming, which causes a decrease in phytoplankton, which take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by photosynthesis, resulting in enhanced carbon dioxide levels, further driving global warming. No worries, though. We’re all going to Mars in our gold-coated rocket ships powered by lunar jet-fuel to mine for water and oil. If there’s intelligent life anywhere in this solar system, I’m betting on Mars.