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One of D-Wave's chips, circa 2011. (credit: D-Wave)

We have been following D-Wave's claims about its quantum hardware at Ars for a number of years. Over that time, my impression has oscillated between skepticism, strong skepticism, and mild enthusiasm.

Back in November, D-Wave issued a press release that basically asked tech journalists to spray paint a finish line just behind their feet and break out a victory flag. It seemed a bit much. But now that D-Wave has declared victory, perhaps it's time to re-examine the skepticism. What exactly has D-Wave achieved, and does it constitute victory? Either way, where are the company's efforts focused now?

Of course the best way to judge D-Wave is not by its press releases nor by the specifications and benchmarks glued on the boxes of its processors—these should be treated with utmost paranoid suspicion. Instead, it's better to look at what researchers who have access to D-Wave hardware are claiming in publications. And despite my suspicions, the paper accompanying that last press release—plus a couple of other papers on the arXiV that were released earlier—is interesting. All together, they paint a picture that says we should finally be cautiously optimistic about D-Wave's progress.

This artist’s impression shows the super-Earth 55 Cancri e in front of its parent star. (credit: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser)

No, 55 Cancri e isn't an exoplanet anyone will want to visit anytime soon. Because it orbits so close to its star, the world has a surface temperature of around 2,000 degrees Celsius. But that hasn't prevented the planet, recently named "Janssen" by the International Astronomical Union, from having an atmosphere. And it's an interesting atmosphere indeed.

Discovered back in 2004, Janssen was one of the first "super Earths" found by astronomers. These planets, larger than Earth but considerably smaller than the gas giants of the Solar System, are thought to be the most common type of planets in the galaxy. Now, using a technique to tease atmospheric data out of Hubble Space Telescope observations, scientists have been able to deduce the atmosphere of this particular super Earth.

According to results published in the Astrophysical Journal, European astronomers have found hydrogen and helium in the atmosphere around Janssen, which may have a diamond-like core due to its very high density. This atmosphere is likely a remnant of the nebula from which the planet and its star formed about 8 billion years ago. The planet has kept this atmosphere somehow, despite the proximity of its star.

Do you like piloting spaceships? Do you like blowing other spaceships out of the heavens? If the answer to those questions is yes and you still haven't got a copy of Elite Dangerous, then good news! Elite Dangerous: Arena is now available for the PC, and it's just $7.49.

Elite Dangerous: Arena will be familiar to those of you who've played the full game as CQC (Close Quarters Combat). You get four different ships, four different arenas, and three different match types (free for all, team deathmatch, and capture the flag), and best of all, it's fully compatible with the full versions of the game.

"Elite Dangerous: Arena is a different kind of multiplayer shooter, offering competitive gamers the chance to jump into thrilling space combat and challenge the world." Frontier CEO David Braben said. Players of Arena or CQC in the full game are also eligible to enter a $100,000 championship tournament to be held later this year.