More than 3,000 scientists are gathering in Washington, D.C. this week for a five-day conference that has been billed as the "Super Bowl of astronomy." The 223rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) ran from Jan. 5 to Jan. 9. Researchers from around the world presented the latest findings about our own solar system, alien planets, black holes and the evolution of the universe, among other topics.

SPACE.com reporters Miriam Kramer and Tanya Lewis are in Washington for the AAS conference. Our complete coverage of meeting appears below, with the latest news first:

Friday, Jan. 10:Searching for Time Travelers, Scientists Look to Social Media Time travelers, if they exist amongst us, have yet to betray their period-hopping ways online, according to a fun, new study that tried to search out visitors from another time, based on their digital footprints.

Space Images from the 223rd American Astronomical Society Meeting: Gallery

3D-Printed Hubble Telescope Photos Help Blind Touch the Universe: Video Astronomers with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore are using a 3D printer to turn Hubble images into textured pictures, opening up the wonders of the universe to people who are visually impaired.

Thursday, Jan. 9

Super-Earth Planets May Have Watery Earthlike Climates According to a new model, tectonically active "super-Earth" exoplanets likely store most of their water in the mantle, leaving exposed continents and oceans that would create a stable climate such as that of Earth.

Wednesday, Jan. 8

Scale of Universe Measured with 1-Percent Accuracy An ultraprecise new galaxy map is shedding light on the properties of dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be responsible for the universe's accelerating expansion.

Smallest, Faintest Galaxies of the Ancient Universe Spotted The Hubble Space Telescope utilized a natural zoom lens to capture nearly 60 of the smallest, faintest galaxies ever spotted in the distant universe. In a separate study, observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope helped researchers determine the masses of four of the brightest early galaxies after Hubble picked them out.

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Complete Coverage: Astronomy News from the 223rd AAS Meeting