Since the beginning of January, Mars has dramatically doubled in brightness and will double again in February from magnitude --0.5 to --1.2. The latter figure is the maximum brightness of the Red Planet when it goes into opposition on March 3. Mars' westward or retrograde motion against the starry background has also accelerated the rate it rises in the evening sky. (Today)

Almost hidden in the northern hills, the pilot water treatment plant here does not seem a harbinger of revolution. (Yesterday)

Does your ponytail splay outward or droop limply? (Yesterday)

Eleven states sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday over its delays in tightening air quality standards involving soot. The Obama administration has faced intense opposition to the stricter regulations from industry and Republicans, who claim that they would drive up energy costs and hurt economic growth. The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, says the new rules are "vitally important to public health." The states say that soot contributes to respiratory illness and heart disease and causes thousands of premature deaths a year. The states involved in the lawsuit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Agency officials said the E.P.A. was continuing to work on new standards. (02/11/2012)

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Energy's loan guarantee program for alternative energy projects, which produced the ill-fated loan to the solar panel maker Solyndra, needs more rigorous financial oversight and stricter performance standards for recipients to reduce the chance of future defaults, according to an audit conducted by the White House and released Friday. (02/11/2012)