Seven earth-sized planets revolving around a not-too-distant sun.

JPL-Caltech/NASA

2. There’s more politics to cover, but first, let’s broaden our perspective.

The discovery of seven Earth-sized planets revolving around a not-too-distant sun gives us earthlings our first realistic chance to search for signs of life outside our solar system.

And a “ring of fire” eclipse — when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth, but doesn’t completely block the sun — will be visible over parts of South America and the southern and western tips of Africa. (Elsewhere, you can watch it now on this live stream.)