Drew Wilson
July 27th, 2010, 12:39 AM
Although some publications glossed over the uncertainty in announcing the first findings of the planet-hunting Kepler mission, researchers say the overall point remains true: Earth-like planets (meaning that they’re small and rocky, not that they have aliens writing blogs about science) are not only not rare–they’re the most common type of planet in our galaxy.
The first intimations of this news came out a few days ago in reports like the Daily Mail’s, which blared that NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler mission had found 140 new planets that were like the Earth in size, and that worlds like our own could dominate the Milky Way. That claim came after a presentation now available to view online by one of the scientists behind Kepler, Harvard’s Dimitar Sasselov.
But Sasselov and colleagues responded to Space.com, trying to quell some of the excitement–or at least hedge on the exact magnitude of the find
More... (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/07/26/keplers-early-results-suggest-earth-like-planets-are-dime-a-dozen/)
I can't believe the probe has not found warning beacons floating around warning the other aliens that us Earthlings are one fncked up race and to stay away at all costs.
The first intimations of this news came out a few days ago in reports like the Daily Mail’s, which blared that NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler mission had found 140 new planets that were like the Earth in size, and that worlds like our own could dominate the Milky Way. That claim came after a presentation now available to view online by one of the scientists behind Kepler, Harvard’s Dimitar Sasselov.
But Sasselov and colleagues responded to Space.com, trying to quell some of the excitement–or at least hedge on the exact magnitude of the find
More... (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/07/26/keplers-early-results-suggest-earth-like-planets-are-dime-a-dozen/)
I can't believe the probe has not found warning beacons floating around warning the other aliens that us Earthlings are one fncked up race and to stay away at all costs.