Houston, we have a pretty cool problem. NASA found a planet outside of our solar system called Kepler-22b that is really similar to Earth and could possibly support life (yikes!!). It’s got the perfect temperature of 72 degrees, which is a really nice day here on Earth. I don’t know about you guys, but space stuff tends to freak me out. I think it’s really great that we’re able to explore the unknown universe, but what if there really is life on this planet. I can picture those aliens being all, “Guys! We just found a planet called Earth that’s our twin! How crazy is that?!”

NASA has been finding all sorts of near-habitable planets with Kepler, 48 to be exact. However, Kepler-22b is the first one they’ve confirmed. This space discovery mission started in 2009 and has since discovered over 1,000 new planet candidates. Even if it is kind of freaky, this is a really cool discovery so here are some fun facts about our twin planet:

1. It orbits a star: this star is really similar to our Sun (also a star, if you didn’t know that by now) which could possibly be the Sun’s twin. Kepler-22b’s orbit is about 290 days, much like our 365-day orbit.

2. It’s bigger: Kepler-22b is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, which scientists say it might be too big for life to exist.

3. But it’s in the habitable zone: NASA has determined that Kepler-22b is in the habitable zone to sustain life. They don’t know what the conditions are under its atmosphere, but its 72 degree temperature most likely means it has water and rock.

4. It’s really far away: this planet is about 600 lightyears away, which means it would take virtually forever to get there. So maybe we won’t be meeting any life forms in the near future.

How do you feel about this new planet? Do you think it has life on it?

Welcome back to The Rival Rundown! If you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown@collegecandy.com!

Let’s travel to the Midwest, where the people are friendly, the food is hearty, and the state school rivalries are relentlessly combative. In the great state of Indiana, two state school systems (Indiana University and Purdue University) are so entrenched in a battle for loyalty that many homes boast signs in their windows reading “A House Divided”–or in other words, the domain has both Purdue and IU alumni.  Can one school win the rights to true Hoosier pride?

1. Mascot Match-up

Indiana – The Hoosiers are not only the university mascot but the state nickname–a term for someone who transports bales of cotton.  Though a derogatory word in other parts of the country, a Hoosier is a label of pride in Indiana!
Purdue – The Boilermakers get their moniker from the longstanding tradition of excellence in engineering at Purdue, which in the 1890s (at the time of the mascot’s inception) meant toiling in the forge room to boil and meld metal.

Three credits to: Indiana, since it takes some balls to claim a questionable slang term for a school (and state) nickname!

2. Crimson and Gold Cup Stats

Indiana – In the six academic years the contest has been held, Indiana has won 3 times and tied once.
Purdue – Won the Cup in ’07, and tied in ’08.

Three Credits to:  Indiana has the definitive edge here!

3. Academic Specialties

Indiana – New York isn’t the only place to make it as a journalist– Indiana is a tour de force in producing great writers. The university has graduated more than 30 Pulitzer Prize winners, while its creative writing MFA program and workshops are world-renowned.
Purdue – If you’ve always wanted to be an astronaut (I’m talking to you, Lance Bass), Purdue is the place to be. Along with MIT, Purdue has boasted more alumni in NASA space programs than any other non-military university. The school also receives funding from NASA and the National Science Foundation for research in aeronautics.

Three credits to: Purdue–actually, it is rocket science (ayoo!).

4. Ass-kicking Alumni

Indiana – Jared the Subway Guy, Meg Cabot (author of The Princess Diaries), Will Shortz (NYT crossword puzzle writer).
Purdue –Neil Armstrong, Jim Gaffigan, Harold Gray (wrote “Little Orphan Annie”).

Three credits to: Purdue. How can it be that the first man on the moon and the infamous Hot Pockets dude are both Boilermakers?

5. Acceptance Rate Agony (for the class of 2012)

Indiana – 70.7%
Purdue – 71.5%

Three credits to:   Indiana!

And the diploma goes to: Indiana is the definitive winner here. Forgive us for the cliche, but Hoosier daddy?

It’s your daily dose of Kandy Korrespondent!

A tornado ripped through the Little Sioux boyscout camp in Iowa, on Wednesday afternoon, killing four and injuring at least 40. Most of the injured were on a hike when the tornado struck. The 93 boys ages 13 to 18 along with 25 staff members had been attended a week-long leadership training camp.

In Other News:

On Thursday, for the first time in nearly a decade, China and Taiwan sat down at the negotiating table. Only two issues are up for discussion: the reinstatement of direct flights (banned since 1949) and the opening of Taiwan to Chinese tourism. The two countries have been in a stony “cold war” ever since the defeated Chinese Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949. Tensions have been aggravated by Taiwan’s insistence that it is the real Republic of China and China’s continuing claim to Taiwan as one of its provinces.

Pakistan-US relations remain tense following Tuesday night’s American air-strike on the Pakistani-Afghan border which killed 11 Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani Military has condemned the attack as “unprovoked and cowardly”. The Pentagon maintains that it was a mission carried out in self-defense during a clash with pro-Taliban militias. US strikes on Pakistani territory have resulted in 50 deaths so far this year.

On Wednesday, Glast (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope), NASA’s space telescope successfully blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida to begin it’s exploration of the universe. Armed with “gamma-ray glasses”, it is hoped that the Glast mission will increase our understanding of some of the universe’s most violent events, such as massive cosmic explosions, giant black holes, and neutron stars—all of which release energy in the form of gamma-rays.

Also on Wednesday, Jim Johnson, the head of Obama’s Vice Presidential exploratory group resigned from his post following questions regarding loans he had received from a company involved in the current housing crisis. Obama released a statement saying that Johnson requested to step aside so as not to distract from the rest of the campaign.

And Now for Something Completely Different…

An Italian couple detained earlier this month for having sex in a church confessional box during morning Mass, have repented and made peace with their local bishop. The two individuals, both in their 30s, told their lawyer that they had been drinking all night and apparently had gone too far. The Bishop accepted their apology ad gave his forgiveness. Last week the bishop celebrated a “Mass of reparation” to cleanse the cathedral’s confessional box of the sacrilege.

Make a note of it ladies—it may seem incredibly rebellious and exciting to do it in the confessional box—but the aftermath SO isn’t worth it. There’s nothing worse than an righteously offended bishop to dampen the afterglow.

That’s the news!

[Photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Natalie Portman is dating the Bearded Lady

Harry Potter’s “hairy potter” is coming to Broadway!

Whateva… I love me some Jason Castro

It’s 2008: even a computer will reject you

How to get rid of a one night stand

As a graduation present, I want to visit SPACE!

Why wouldn‘t MTV make a reality show about high school newspapers?

50 greatest comedy sketches of all time

I’m feeling pretty good about society

Looking for a new diet?

All joking aside, getting your first real apartment, or even just your first room whether it’s in a dorm or shared apartment, is very exciting. This is YOUR space. The place you will call home and go to relax after a long day.

So, I think it is important to put energy and time into decorating it right. That does NOT mean you have to put tons of money into this project.

I have been doing some research into how to cheaply and efficiently decorate a space as I am preparing to move into my first real place this weekend and felt CC readers would appreciate some tips during this fall transition time.

One article I read offered some important tips to keep in mind such as, remember to declutter because nothing ruins a great look like a bunch of junk, pay special attention to display surfaces to keep a minimum of 2-3 things on them, and play around with paint in order to spice up a space quick.

The most important philosophy from this article: Spend time — not money — decluttering, painting, and accessorizing to give your place some attitude.

So, once you are on the fun part, accessorizing, is it possible to find some cheap, yet stylish, places to explore? The answer is YES!

For one, check out THRIFT SHOPS! I have already scheduled my Sunday for hitting up different places around NYC. For a list of the best thrift shops for this locale, check out this list. Or, if you are in another city, look at ApartmentTherapy.com for some tips.

If trolling thrift shops isn’t your thing and you would rather point, click, and order, check out these sweet websites for accessorizing:

MXYPLYZYK

Z Gallerie

Surprise! Surprise! (love this one!)

Target (come on, what room wouldn’t be complete without some sort of Target accessory?)

Happy Decorating!

“Wanna go bowling tonight?”

“Dude yea! Let’s pregame!”

“We should go see that new horror flick guys.”

“Hell yea, but it’ll be ten times scarier if we smoke the herb first!”

“Putt Putt?”

“Tequila!”

So if anyone can understand why there has been an outbreak of drunk astronauts, college kids take the cake:

“Ready for take off?”

“We got a couple minutes, man. Finish the flask”

Hollywood never called dibs on juicy scandals, so NASA decided to join the fun. Controversy has broken out when a recently published article in an aviation mag exposed NASA for allegedly sending astronauts up into space whilst wasted. Yes, you read right, sloshed, hammered, intoxicated. Houston, we have a problem.

The media had a field day over LiLo’s beaming collection of DUI’s (well-deserved, obvi), so what about these suspected cases of LWI? (Launching While Intoxicated!) Well, NASA attorney claims it’s just another case of so-called, “spacial profiling.” Damn him for beating me to the punch, since I don’t think I could have ever come up with a more clever term. Explaining that astronauts are “different” than normal Americans, (???) Apollo attorney claimed that they were simply being discriminated against, feebly attempting to illegitimize the issue.

I mean, I guess it’s a good thing there’s not much they can bump into up there, but since when is launching a spaceship a good last stop for your weekend bender? Should NASA be worried that pretty soon, like in 10-9-8-7…sober liftoffs will become just as extinct as sober Friday nights in my freshman dorm?

Understandable, that NASA’s become a bit more lenient ever since Lance Bass decided he wanted to ride a rocket (I’m sorry, it was too easy) but this is a little much.

Sober up fellas! That’s one small whisky shot for man, one giant sloppy stumble for mankind, and an even bigger pain in NASA’s ass.