Smile, it's a new Galactic Self-Portrait, this week on planetary radio. Hi everyone,

welcome to Public Radio's travel show

that takes you to the final frontier.

I'm Matt Kaplan.

So you think you know what the Milky Way looks

like? Maybe not. Astronomers Bob Benjamin and Thomas Dame will share new revelations

about the shape and structure of the galaxy we call home.

We are also just moments away from a Phoenix mission update.

Emily Lachtoala will help us celebrate confirmation that the white stuff exposed by Phoenix

really is water ice. Later we'll join Bruce Betts

for another what's up look at the night sky and Bill Nye the Science Guy is back with his

own enthusiastic take on Martian water.

And if that's not enough, we've got more space news at planetary.org, including

a story about three super-Earth's found circling a star 42 light years away. Water on Mars, you can go all the way

back to the first sightings of the polar ice caps for evidence. But we've never actually

dug in and found any.

Not till now, anyway.

Emily, they did it.

Yes, they did.

They found the ice that they were looking for.

And with remarkable ease.

Yeah, well, you know, they found that bright, white, smooth material just by landing on it because

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