Backwards Exoplanet and Shrinking Mercury

An exoplanet has been discovered orbiting its star in the opposite direction of its star's rotation, a phenomenon that previously has only been observed in the presence of another star or massive sub-stellar object that can rotate the plane of planet's orbit. In this case, no such obvious explanation exists, suggesting that after the star formed an entire new planet formation disk accreted around the star of unknown origin. Planets close to home also continue to surprise, with a new gas escape mechanism observed at Jupiter and our friend Mercury appears to have shrunk even more than previously thought.