In a galaxy far, far away

Never mind the economy, politics, all that Earthbound stuff. This is exciting:

Earth seems to have its first fuzzy photos of alien planets outside our solar system, images captured by two teams of astronomers. The pictures show four likely planets that appear as specks of white, nearly indecipherable except to the most eagle-eyed experts. All are trillions of miles away — three of them orbiting the same star, and the fourth circling a different star.

None of the four giant gaseous planets are remotely habitable or remotely like Earth. But they raise the possibility of others more hospitable.

Sure, we've known there were planets outside our solar system -- more than 300 have been discovered in the past 13 years -- but we've had to accept indirect proof of their existence. The photographs make them seem more real. I don't think any of our UFO sightings have been anything other than explainable phenomena, but it's comforting to occasionally think we might not be alone in the universe.