Astronomers find batch of "super-Earths"

European researchers said on Monday they discovered a batch of three "super-Earths" orbiting a nearby star, and two other solar systems with small planets as well.

They said their findings, presented at a conference in France, suggest that Earth-like planets may be very common.

"Does every single star harbor planets and, if yes, how many?" asked Michel Mayor of Switzerland's Geneva Observatory. "We may not yet know the answer but we are making huge progress towards it," Mayor said in a statement.

The trio of planets orbit a star slightly less massive than our Sun, 42 light-years away towards the southern Doradus and Pictor constellations. A light-year is the distance light can travel in one year at a speed of 186,000 miles a second, or about 6 trillion miles.

The planets are bigger than Earth -- one is 4.2 times the mass, one is 6.7 times and the third is 9.4 times.

( super-Earths )

Archaeologists excavate 2,000-year-old Roman Warehouse

Archaeologists hope to find out more about what could be a 2,000-year-old warehouse over the next few weeks.

A team of 50 are taking part in the excavation of a corner of a Roman fortress in Caerleon near Newport.

The dig will open a large trench over the building, which is believed to have supplied the Roman legion.

Dr Peter Guest, of Cardiff University, said: "Store buildings are a largely unknown feature of legionary fortresses."

The experts from Cardiff and University College London will also keeping a blog updated of their progress in excavating the remains of a monumental courtyard building in the south-western corner of the fortress, which was known as Isca.

The building's existence was found during geophysical surveys and trial excavations last year.

It is hoped that this summer's dig will provide a wealth of new information about the storage facilities, provisioning, and supply of Roman soldiers in Britain.

Dr Guest, of Cardiff's school of history and archaeology said: "Our work is the first research excavation conducted on a military store in Britain.

"We hope that our findings will not only improve our knowledge of the fortress and its inhabitants, but also tell us more about the history of the fortress and Roman Britain.

"This is real archaeology in action and we are looking forward to an exciting summer in Caerleon."

As well as keeping in touch online, the public will invited to join twice-daily tours of the site, where they can see the latest archaeological finds.

Caerleon is one of the most important Roman sites in Britain, was one of three permanent garrisons, and was home to the second Augustan legion.

But excavations at the other sites in Chester and York are difficult, which makes the work at Caerleon unique.

By 74 AD, Caerleon had become the main administrative centre for the Roman army in Wales, and the site includes a bathhouse and an amphitheatre, which had a capacity for 6,000 spectators.

The project is supported by Cadw and the National Roman Legion Museum.

Site tours will run at 1100 and 1430 BST daily (except Saturdays) and special events are being organised for Caerleon's Roman Spectacular Military Weekend (28-29 June) and National Archaeology Week (12-20 July).

New Flying Dinosaur Discovered

It’s the cutest little 120-million-year-old flying reptile you could ever hope to see.

Nemicolopterus crypticus is a new genus and species of pterosaur, described from a nearly complete fossil discovered in Early Cretaceous sediments in northeastern China. It was reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy by Xiaolin Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues.

They say the fossil specimen, the only one known, is probably of a juvenile. So although its wingspan is estimated at 10 inches, it would probably have been larger at adulthood.

Still, it’s one of the smallest pterosaurs known, far smaller than many others. That giant of the sky Quetzalcoatlus, for instance, had a wingspan roughly 40 times wider.

Nemicolopterus shares some features with other later pterosaurs, notably a toothless jaw. But it has some unique features, too, including a projection on its femurs that the scientists say probably supported muscles or tendons that might have connected to the foot, making for strong legs.

It is also the only pterosaur known to have some curved bones in its toes. The scientists say that shows it was adapted to life in the trees. It probably hung out in the canopy of gingko forests, eating insects.

Mysterious Canadian Dinosaur May Be New Species

A prospecting geologist stumbled upon a ragtag bunch of bones in the northern part of British Columbia, more than three decades ago. A new study suggests these fossils could represent a new species of dinosaur.

But beyond that, the dinosaur's identity is a mystery — sort of a Dino Doe.

The small collection of bones includes seven shin, arm and toe bones, as well as a possible skull fragment.

Based on the shapes and sizes of the bones, paleontologists think they could have belonged to a type of small- to medium-sized dinosaur, possibly a pachycephalosaur or ornithopod.

The specimen is referred to as the Sustut dinosaur, because it was found in the Sustut Basin in north-central British Columbia, Canada.

Kenny Larsen found the bones in 1971 while prospecting for thorium, a radioactive element. During his fieldwork, his instruments registered above-background levels of radiation, which turned out to be emitted by the bones.

The bones were studied by then-undergraduate student Victoria Arbour, who soon realized the remains were a rare find: They are well-preserved and are the most complete dinosaur specimen found in British Columbia to date.

Larsen's original field notes were lost, so paleontologists don't know the exact location where the bones were found, making them harder to date.

Based on properties of the rock attached to some of the fragments, Arbour and her colleagues think the specimen may date to about 70 million years ago in the Upper Cretaceous Period.

The bone fragments resemble those from a small two-legged, plant-eating dinosaur, Arbour found.

Certain bones are similar to those from pachycephalosaurs, which ran on two legs and sported thick, dome-shaped skulls, while others are similar to ornithopods, bipedal grazers with horny beaks.

"There are similarities with two other kinds of dinosaurs, although there's also an arm bone we've never seen before," Arbour said. "The Sustut dinosaur may be a new species, but we won't know for sure until more fossils can be found."

The bone fragments could possibly be from more than one individual, or even more than one type of dinosaur, the study notes.

Arbour's findings are detailed in the most recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Her research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Alberta Ingenuity.

The fossils are currently in the collection of the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, British Columbia.