Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Kepler Begins Search for Other 'Earths'

Spacecraft will spend next 3 years searching for planet in 'Goldilocks zone'

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 7, 2009 2:18 AM CST

(Newser) – NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft Kepler was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral last night, Space.com reports. Kepler, the widest-field telescope ever sent into space, will spend the next three years scanning the sky for a planet in the "Goldilocks zone" where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist and for life to take hold.

"We have a feeling like we're about to set sail across an ocean to discover a new world," said the project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "It's sort of the same feeling Columbus or Magellan must have had." The $600 million spacecraft will start scanning after a few weeks of health checks and will send its findings back to Earth monthly.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Spectators watch the launch of NASA's planet-hunting spacecraft, Kepler Friday, March 6, 2009, from Cocoa Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Florida Today, Malcolm Denemark)

This artist rendition provided by NASA shows the Kepler space telescope. Kepler is designed to search for Earth-like planets in the Milky Way galaxy. (AP Photo/NASA)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

At the end of those three years, we'll be able to answer, 'Are there other worlds out there or are we alone?'
- William Borucki, Kepler's principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 5 comments

riffran

Mar 7, 2009 4:05 AM CST

THATS RIGHT!.....I don't know if there is "intelligent" life out there but I wouldn't bet against it....law of averages would support that argument for life.....to think that out of the millions of stars out there, OURS is the only one capable of supporting or having life, is just plain silly....just to laugh a bit, there is a southern Babtist organization in a nearby town that preach "the existance of life elsewhere would deny GOD!!"....one of the congregation cornered me once and started in on the subject...I just had to respond by looking her straight in the eye and telling her "NANOO NANOO MORK CALLING ORSON....MORK CALLING ORSON...COME IN ORSON"...if it wasn't for her polygrip she would have lost her upper plate....

Guest

Mar 7, 2009 3:05 AM CST

Not just one Goldilocks Zone but many... around many different stars.

Guest

Mar 6, 2009 8:18 PM CST

"Drake Equation"... Interesting stuff: "This equation was devised by Dr. Frank Drake (now Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz) in 1960, in an attempt to estimate the number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy with which we might come in contact. The main purpose of the equation is to allow scientists to quantify the uncertainty of the factors which determine the number of such extraterrestrial civilizations." (Wikipedia)

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Space.com (Source Grid »)
Los Angeles Times (Source Grid »)

Scientists expect to find many Earth-like planets
Globe and Mail

Online catalog of exoplanets launched
MSNBC

Science • Technology

space exploration • planet • Earth • exoplanet • Cape Canaveral • Kepler spacecraft • space telescope • outer space

More Newser Stories

'Super Earth' Spotted, Might Support Life

GG 667Cc orbits star 22 light years away

(NEWSER) - A planet in a triple-star system a relatively close 22 light years away is the best candidate yet for supporting life, researchers say. The rocky planet, GJ 667Cc, is around 4.5 times the size of Earth and orbits in the middle of the "Goldilocks zone" where water can remain stable without boiling or freezing, the Christian Science Monitor reports. It orbits a red dwarf star once every 28 days, and appears to absorb as much light and energy from its sun as Earth does. More»

Scientists Find 11 New Planetary Systems

Triples number of known multiplanetary star systems

(NEWSER) - The Kepler space telescope has discovered a whopping 11 new planetary systems that are home to 26 planets—thus tripling the number of stars that have more than one planet that passes in front of them and doubling the number of exoplanets confirmed by the Kepler mission. "Prior to the Kepler mission, we knew of perhaps 500 exoplanets across the whole sky," says a NASA scientist. "Now, in just two years staring at a patch of sky not much bigger than your fist, Kepler has discovered more than 60 planets and more than 2,300 planet candidates." More»

Space Telescope Spots Earth-Sized Worlds

Kepler discoveries are smallest exoplanets yet found

(NEWSER) - For the first time, scientists have discovered planets roughly the size of ours outside our solar system. Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f are the smallest exoplanets yet found, Discovery reports. Because they're so close to the star they orbit, they don't appear habitable, but the finding is "next major milestone to finding habitable planets beyond our solar system," says a NASA scientist. More»

World's Biggest Plane to Rocket People into Space

Paul Allen project might be ready for tests in 2016

(NEWSER) - The world's biggest plane, with wings longer than a football field, is being built to launch astronauts and cargo into outer space. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and aerospace innovator Burt Rutan have teamed up to create the gargantuan aircraft, which will work by hauling a rocket high into the air and then blasting it into space, thus bypassing the need for a launch pad and saving on fuel, reports AP . They unveiled their plans yesterday. More»

NASA Spots Habitable Earth-Like Planet

Kepler-22b averages 72 degrees and may have oceans

(NEWSER) - Finally, an Earth-like planet where the weather is nice enough for an occasional visit. Only, it's 600 light-years away. Today NASA announced the existence of Kepler-22b, the first-ever planet discovered in the "habitable zone" of a sun-like star—where temperatures are placid enough to allow for water, ScienceNOW reports. "It's a great gift," says one scientist. "We were very fortunate to find it." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Kepler Begins Search for Other 'Earths'