Some people may wonder why we in the Northern Hemisphere have our spring and summer when our planet is far away from the sun. (Equally confusing: our fall and winter come when we are near to the sun.) Shouldn't proximity to that nice warm ball of sunshine predict our seasons?

NPR: Not All Seasons Are Created Equal

Migration has slowed from a high of nearly 2 million annually in 2006 to less than 800, 000 last year, but the most recent numbers show that the Sun Belt states, though chastened by the recession, are far from dead, as often alleged.

FORBES: Where Americans Are Moving

Mr. STERN: So a few weeks after the Pluto encounter when we've chosen our target, we'll fire the engines of the spacecraft, but we'll have to fly a distance something like from here to the sun or twice that far to reach these Kuiper Belt objects.

NPR: NASA Sends Spacecraft to Pluto

He was a young man full of earthly vigor who had a wisdom of his own, and may the earth in which he rests, not far from here, lie light on his bones, and bring the news, each year, of the return of the sun and of the frost.

NEWYORKER: Bear Meat