Mars is in the news more often these days. We have a rover named Curiosity on the planet in pursuit of evidence of water, and scientists are closer than ever to discovering evidence of complex organic compounds, which could point to the existence of life at some point. Here is an amazing painting of “early Mars”, showing shallow oceans across the northern lowlands and large weather systems drifting in a much denser atmosphere than today’s. Via NYTimes: It’s a fascinating and exciting view of what the planet probably looked like millions of years ago. Below that is a photo taken from Mars from our wheeled friend, Curiosity.