REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

NASAs Kepler is go for launch!! Seeking Alien worlds? I can haz necropost?

POSTED BY: PARTICIPANT
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2009 05:42
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Friday, March 6, 2009 5:43 PM

PARTICIPANT


Before NASA and Europe were finding big Jupiter sized exoplanets around other stars.

Now they launch a dedicated mission to find alien planets like Earth

If NASA discovers alien planets will they cover it up?



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Friday, March 6, 2009 5:47 PM

PARTICIPANT


http://spacejibe.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/spacecraft-to-blast-off-in-s
earch-of-earths
/
Quote:

Calling it a mission that may fundamentally change humanity’s view of itself, NASA on Friday prepared to launch a telescope that will search our corner of the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets.

The Kepler spacecraft is scheduled to blast into space on top of a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida just before 11 p.m. ET.

“This is a historical mission. It’s not just a science mission,” NASA Associate Administrator Ed Weiler said during a pre-launch news conference.

“It really attacks some very basic human questions that have been part of our genetic code since that first man or woman looked up in the sky and asked the question: Are we alone?”

Kepler contains a special telescope that will stare at 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years as it trails Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

The spacecraft will look for tiny dips in a star’s brightness, which can mean an orbiting planet is passing in front of it — an event called a transit.

The instrument is so precise that it can register changes in brightness of 20 parts per million in stars that are thousands of light years away.

“Being able to make that kind of a sensitive measurement over a very large number of stars was extremely challenging,” Kepler project manager James Fanson said.

“So we’re very proud of the vehicle we have built. This is a crowning achievement for NASA and a monumental step in our search for other worlds around other stars.”



http://stinabong.livejournal.com/113464.html
Quote:

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler telescope is poised for a late-night launch tonight to begin seeking out Earth-like planets circling distant stars.

The $600 million Kepler spacecraft is slated to blast off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station tonight at 10:49 p.m. EST (0349 March 7 GMT) on a mission that could profoundly change how humans perceive their role in the universe.

"It very possibly could tell us that Earths are very, very common, that we have lots of neighbors out there," said Ed Weiler, NASA's associate administrator for science missions. "Or it could tell us that Earths are really, really rare, and we're all alone out there."

Named after Johannes Kepler, the 17th century German scientist who pioneered the laws of planetary motion, the Kepler the spacecraft is NASA's first mission dedicated seeking out planets like Earth orbiting stars at just the right distance to allow liquid water - a vital ingredient for life on our own world - to exist on the surface.

"Kepler is essentially a planet-sifter for Earths," said Patricia Boyd, NASA's Kepler program scientist, adding that the mission is expected to take a census of Earth-like planets to see how common they are in our Milky Way galaxy. "The answer to that question could fundamentally shift our picture of our place in the universe."

Astronomers have discovered nearly 340 extrasolar planets since 1995, but most of them are gas giants, like Jupiter, or larger.

"What we're really interested in are rocky planets like that of the Earth," said William Borucki, Kepler's principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

The forecast for tonight's planned launch appears pristine, with a less than five percent chance of foul weather thwarting Kepler's liftoff, mission managers said. The mission has two launch opportunities; a three-minute window at its first launch time and another window that opens at 11:13 p.m. EST (0414 March 7 GMT).

NASA delayed Kepler's launch by one day last week to allow extra rocket checks on the spacecraft's Delta 2 booster to ensure it was fit to fly. The precaution, stemmed from the Feb. 24 failure of a different rocket carrying a NASA Earth-watching satellite, found Kepler's booster in fine shape for tonight's planned liftoff, mission managers said.

Strange New Earths

After launch, Kepler is designed to turn its unblinking camera eye at a patch of sky between 600 and 3,000 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellations Cygnus and Lyra. The target zone covers an area similar to what a human hand could cover when held at arm's length.

Kepler will stare at the region for at least 3 1/2 years, measuring the light from 100,000 stars every half hour with a 95 million-pixel camera to watch for the slight dip in a star's brightness that signals a planet moving across it as seen from Earth. It's the equivalent of trying to spot a flea crawl across a car headlight from miles away, NASA has said.

"We certainly won't find E.T.," Borucki said. "But we will find E.T.'s home by looking at all of these stars."

But spotting planets the size of Earth is hard work. Kepler will seek out planets that circle their parent stars in just the right orbit, a so-called habitable or "Goldilocks" zone that is neither too hot nor cold for liquid water to exist.

For example, last month European scientists using the COROT space telescope announced the discovery of COROT-Exo-7b, a small exoplanet with a mass that weighs in at just twice the size of the Earth.

But while the planet's status as the smallest exoplanet has caused some debate, researchers are sure the alien world orbits very close to its parent star, making the trip once every 20 hours. Surface temperatures on COROT-Exo-7b are estimated at 1,832 to 2,732 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 to 1,500 degrees Celsius).

"If that planet has an ocean, it flows with molten lead," said Borucki, adding that a planet circling a star from too far out faces a different problem. "Too far out and they're too cold. They're probably frozen solid."

So Kepler will be hunting for planets that move across their stars, or transit, about once every Earth year. Prime candidates will be ones the space telescope spots three times during its initial mission, mission researchers said.

Kepler will scout for its Earth-like quarry from an orbit that trails behind the Earth and circles the sun once every 371 days. While the spacecraft is designed to last 3 1/2 years, it carries enough fuel for up to six years of planet hunting just in case its mission is extended.

"We're very proud of the vehicle we have built," said Jim Fanson, Kepler's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "This is a crowning achievement for NASA and a monumental step for our search for other Earths around other stars."


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Friday, March 6, 2009 6:14 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Hope it goes better than the Global Warming satellite they tried to send up last week.



It is not those who use the term "Islamo-Fascism" who are sullying the name of Islam; it is the Islamo-Fascists. - Dennis Prager

A concern of the GOP is that the people aren't informed enough to understand their policies, while a fear of the Dems is that the people ARE.

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Friday, March 6, 2009 11:26 PM

FREMDFIRMA


As I hear it, we HAVE located two bodies orbiting within the liquid water zone previously, but haven't been able to tell much about em yet.

Anyone know what Kepler itself is powered by ?
Cause I am a big fan of the Ion Engines used to power DS1 and DS2, those were damned impressive in overall performance and durability.

-F

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Saturday, March 7, 2009 2:47 AM

CITIZEN


If there was any worth to it, the private sector would be doing it. What a waste of money!



More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009 3:11 AM

WHOZIT


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
If there was any worth to it, the private sector would be doing it. What a waste of money!



More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

How many years will it be untill it gets close to an Alien World? Will we be alive to see the pics?

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Saturday, March 7, 2009 3:13 AM

WHOZIT


Quote:

Originally posted by participant:
Before NASA and Europe were finding big Jupiter sized exoplanets around other stars.

Now they launch a dedicated mission to find alien planets like Earth

If NASA discovers alien planets will they cover it up?





Miranda

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Saturday, March 7, 2009 3:50 AM

KIRKULES


Quote:

Originally posted by whozit:
How many years will it be untill it gets close to an Alien World? Will we be alive to see the pics?


"How long will it take Kepler to get to its target stars in Cygnus?

The Kepler spacecraft is not traveling to the stars in Cygnus. It will orbit our own Sun, trailing behind Earth in its orbit, and stay pointed at Cygnus starfield for 3.5 years to watch for drops in brightness that happen when an orbiting planet crosses (transits) in front of the star. Cygnus was chosen because it has a very rich starfield and is in an area of sky where the Sun will not get in the way of the spacecraft's view for its entire orbit."

http://kepler.nasa.gov/about/

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Sunday, March 8, 2009 6:36 PM

JAYNEZTOWN


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:
If there was any worth to it, the private sector would be doing it.



The private sector is a complete joke! I am delighted they are not doing it because they would only screw it up like they screwed up the British transport industry and screwed up many other things in America like the medical system

Sometimes a large government backed program is a necessary evil,
with no government backing Rome's temples would have never been built,
without government backing Columbus would have never sailed to America,
without government backing the Brits would have never been able to build fighter planes to defend against Hitler's attack
no government and you get no Sputnik...
...No Neil Armstrong and Buzz on the Moon, no F-22 Raptor, No Hubble etc etc


The private sectors ability in space is completely over blown and over-rated by airheads in the news media

All these private sector money obsessed idiots want to do is either outsource everything to India, and giving away to India all our technology

or just set up a space ponzi scheme and fleece people by launching sub orbital flights and sell them as high tech carnival rides to rich tourists.

Putting the word 'Private' in front of something does not always make it better. If you want to push the envelope and do something big and ground breaking like building a colony on Mars then a large government backed program is a necessary evil


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Monday, March 9, 2009 2:27 AM

CITIZEN


Quote:

Originally posted by JaynezTown:


Putting the word 'Private' in front of something does not always make it better. If you want to push the envelope and do something big and ground breaking like building a colony on Mars then a large government backed program is a necessary evil



That was basically what I was getting at. I was being sarcastic.



More insane ramblings by the people who brought you beeeer milkshakes!
No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.

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Monday, March 9, 2009 1:40 PM

JAYNEZTOWN


Here's some of the outsourcing part

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/10/nasa_returns_to_the_moon_as_indian_s
pacecraft_stowaway-2.html


PLAN BUSH 2008 OUTSOURCING NASA TO INDIA

Will Obama follow up and outsource NASA to Mexico?

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Monday, March 9, 2009 1:51 PM

BYTEMITE


Quote:

Originally posted by citizen:

That was basically what I was getting at. I was being sarcastic.




Oh thank merciful gravy on toast! I thought I'd fallen into an alternate universe for a second there!

EDIT: And also that you didn't mean that. o.0 I don't understand why people think exploring space is a waste. I mean, how long do they expect us to STAY on this rock and support our exploding population? Until Judgement Day?

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Monday, March 9, 2009 2:20 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Well Byte, there's also the terrible fear amongst the earth-bound powers that be, that should we ever get out of reach of their gun toting thugs...

We might decide to stop listening to the bastards.

And that scares them mightily.

Via Stellarum!

-F

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Monday, March 9, 2009 2:30 PM

ELVISCHRIST


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Well Byte, there's also the terrible fear amongst the earth-bound powers that be, that should we ever get out of reach of their gun toting thugs...

We might decide to stop listening to the bastards.

And that scares them mightily.

Via Stellarum!

-F



Of course, there's also the idea that if we ever got out of reach of their guns - say, a nice li'l place in the Asteroid Belt - we might just decide to hurl a few rocks Earth's direction, just to let 'em know that while we might be out of THEIR range, they're not out of OURS. :)

Don't tell me that my ship is coming in...
Time's running out the door you're running in.

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Monday, March 9, 2009 2:47 PM

FREMDFIRMA


And I was SOOOOOoooo trying not to say that...


Yeah, putting a missle up a gravity well is way harder than, well, dropping a rock.

-F

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Monday, March 9, 2009 4:19 PM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)


Quote:

Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
And I was SOOOOOoooo trying not to say that...


Yeah, putting a missle up a gravity well is way harder than, well, dropping a rock.

-F




Especially when you have such a very large supply of rocks, and after a little nudge, gravity does all the work for you!

Mike

I can't run no more
with that lawless crowd
while the killers in high places
say their prayers out loud.
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
a thundercloud
and they're going to hear from me.

- Anthem, by Leonard Cohen

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Monday, March 9, 2009 11:30 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Someone once discussed this with me, the mechanics of it, and went on and on with math I didn't understand trying to say how unfeasible it was, which I didn't believe for a moment, and he had some obvious ulterior motives behind his argument.

And so I likened it to standing on top of the sears tower with a dozen 12lb bowling balls, aiming at an average sized duplex down near the bottom.

Chances are, you WILL hit the damn thing at least once.

Hitting a particular spot ON earth, well, doubtful, that, but use a BIG enough rock, and that's not gonna matter a whole damn lot now is it ?



And THAT is why the powers that be don't want us up there - cause once they start threatening folk who won't listen to em no more, probably with nukes, this is the very likely result.

-Frem

It cannot be said enough, those who do not learn from history, are doomed to endlessly repeat it

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Monday, August 10, 2009 11:24 PM

JAYNEZTOWN


(Reuters)
http://news.yahoo.com/
- The orbiting Kepler telescope has spotted a Jupiter-sized planet around another star -- a sighting that demonstrates it can see Earth-like planets if they are out there, scientists reported on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT

The planet, called HAT-P-7b, was already among the 300 or so known so-called extrasolar planets, the team led by the U.S. space agency NASA reported. But measurements of its orbit by Kepler show the telescope will be able to see smaller planets, they reported in the journal Science.

"We think it is likely that Kepler is going to find oodles and oodles of Earths," astrobiologist Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Washington told a news conference.

Boss said one day "we'll be able to stand outside ... and say 'Hey kids, look out there see that star? That one has an Earth".

The team, led by William Borucki of the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, said the telescope not only detected the "hot Jupiter", which orbits very close to its sun, but was able to get readings that could give information about its atmosphere.

This ability will help scientists tell whether Earth-like planets have water or oxygen on their surfaces.

Kepler was launched in March with the specific goal of finding Earth-sized planets that might support life outside our solar system. It orbits the sun behind the Earth and in theory should be able to spot things that Earthbound telescopes and even the orbiting Hubble telescope cannot.

It uses a standard planet-hunting method -- watching for the slight dimming of a star's light as a planet passes in front of it.

Borucki's team is looking at data from Kepler's observations of more than 50,000 stars. "The question remains how many Earths are there out there for Kepler to find," Boss said.


Russian navy declassifies UFO encounters!?!?
http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/200931/4135/Russian-navy-decl
assifies-UFO-encounters


Chinese Astronauts Must Be Super Human
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Chinese_Astronauts_Must_Be_Super_Hum
an_999.html






International Crew Begins Virtual Mission to Mars

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,511787,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/s
pace


Experts At Mars School In China
http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1721310/experts_at_mars_school_in_c
hina
/

Jupiter Hit by Cosmic Object -- Is Earth Next?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535090,00.html?sPage=fnc/scitech/s
pace

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009 5:48 PM

THATWEIRDGIRL


I wanna go!

Can I go to the new planets?

---
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."
-- Charlie Brown
www.thatcostumegirl.com
www.thatweirdgirl.com

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:11 PM

DREAMTROVE


Yes, you can haz planetz

Actually, liquid water on a different planet is probably much closer to home: All four gas giants, but also quite possibly some of the moons of jupiter. All the ice is frozen on the surface, but the weight of the ocean would tend to cause the water underneath to liquify, so it's possible.

I was reading about deep sea exploration on earth: I think we now know more about space than we do about the ocean.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009 7:35 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important


Hello,

This conversation has taken a turn that makes it feel like a harsh mistress.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 5:42 AM

JAYNEZTOWN


WHY NO UPDATES FROM NASA?

Here's what the European ESA rocket discovered

EUROPE GETS CREDIT FOR DISCOVERY OF EARTH LIKE WORLDS!

NASA tells its US taxpayers nothing, despite each mission costing twice the price of European, Russian or Japanese missions

February 03, 2009
http://blogs.discovery.com/space_disco/2009/02/a-rocky-exoplanet.html
Ladies and gents, we've found the smallest-ever rocky planet outside of the solar system -- way outside of the solar system. (About 456 light-years outside, to be precise.)

Nevermind that COROT-Exo-7b is likely a place covered in molten lava and/or face-melting steam; it's still rocky and we know it (clap your hands)!

This from the press release:

"For the first time, we have unambiguously detected a planet that is 'rocky' in the same sense as our own Earth." - Malcolm Fridlund, ESA's COROT (convection rotation and transits) project scientist

http://blogs.discovery.com/.a/6a00d8341bf67c53ef011168465b94970c-800wi

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