Searching For ET: Kepler Launch A Success, Search For E.T. Is Underway

Searching For ET: Kepler Launch A Success, Search For E.T. Is Underway: "Gizmodo

As noted earlier, the Keppler launch took place on Thursday and I can now report, it was a success. Click on the link above for the Gizmodo site for more comment. Gizmodo is great for those of us who love electronic gadgetry! Click on this NASA site for mission information.

Beyond Green Roofs: 15 Vertically Vegetated Buildings | WebEcoist

Beyond Green Roofs: 15 Vertically Vegetated Buildings | WebEcoist

Above is a link to a green building website. It is fascinating and hopefully a harbinger of the future. You should see also the first edition of Scientific American Earth 3.0 about the same subject. This also discusses urban farming and mentions a commercial garden in New York City that was in business until about 20 years ago. You could buy local and eliminate all transportation costs from farm to market!

NASA - Search for Habitable Planets

NASA - Search for Habitable Planets

Extra Solar planets keep popping up all over the place. Gas Giants orbiting close to parent stars...against previous theories of planetary formation. Rocky planets have also been found. Keppler will build on the already 230 planets discovered looking for earth size planets in the habitable zone. If launch goes okay, we will increase our knowledge exponentially!
Kepler Scientific Objectives

Image above: Kepler's targeted star field. Credit: Carter Roberts of the Eastbay Astronomical Society The scientific objective of the Kepler Mission is to explore the structure and diversity of planetary systems. This is achieved by surveying a large sample of stars to:

• Determine the percentage of terrestrial and larger planets that are in or near the habitable zone of a wide variety of stars
• Determine the distribution of sizes and shapes of the orbits of these planets
• Estimate how many planets there are in multiple-star systems
• Determine the variety of orbit sizes and planet reflectivities, sizes, masses and densities of short-period giant planets
• Identify additional members of each discovered planetary system using other techniques
• Determine the properties of those stars that harbor planetary systems.