This week in science: New year, new science, new earths?

Wet Mars as it may have appeared billions of years ago. Image courtesy of The Atlantic, click image for info. Congress sucked in 2012 and we all know why. But it wasn't a total loss, there was at least one last second holiday gift under the people's tree:

Whether you're a homeowner who bought an energy-saving refrigerator last year or a company hoping to build a wind farm, the tax package Congress just approved may give you a reason to cheer.

"It's got something in there, a Christmas gift if you will, for almost everyone ' American homeowners, workers who commute via transit, and manufacturers of efficient equipment like clothes washers, dryers, refrigerators," says Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy.

• Mars Curiosity will be busy in 2013, driving to the nearby mountainside in search of ancient marine deposits. Speaking of which, what the hell is that?
• Scientists predict the first truly earth-like exo solar planet will be found this year. With a recently estimated hundred billion or more to choose from in our galaxy alone there is no shortage of candidates!
• Why would a spider make a sculpture of itself?
• Closer to home, if you felt more "enlightened" this week there's a good reason: It was earth's closest approach to the sun! There's a neat lesson in that for earth and planetary science.
• We're still waiting on final data for the whole earth, but right now it looks like 2012 may be the hottest year on record in the US. Maybe 2013 can beat it!