NASA's Kepler Telescope Launched Successfully 82
Iddo Genuth writes "At precisely 10:49 p.m. EST, NASA's 'Kepler' telescope was successfully kicked off into space, embarking on a mission that the agency says 'may fundamentally change humanity's view of itself.' The telescope will search the nearby region of our galaxy for the first time looking for Earth-size planets, which orbit stars at distances where temperatures permit liquid water to endure on their surface — a region often referred to as the 'habitable' zone."
And for the conspiracy theorists: (Score:4, Funny)
This means:
1. THEY don't want the world to know the truth about global warming.
2. THEY know that Kepler will be pointed the wrong way anyway.
GJ Nasa! (Score:5, Funny)
Nasa needs to get the facts:
You take the good, you take the bad,
you crash billions of dollars of equipment into the ocean,
The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.
There's a time you got to go and show
You're growin' now you know about
The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life.
When the world never seems
to be livin up to your dreams
And suddenly you're finding out
the Facts of Life are all about you, you.
It takes a lot to get 'em right
When you're learning the Facts of Life. (learning the Facts of Life)
Learning the Facts of Life (learning the Facts of Life)
Learning the Facts of Life.
Ahh, I never get sick of that old Alan Thicke jingle.
Re:Must have used a big-ass boot. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:That's pretty cool. (Score:2, Funny)
Another way to look at this is:
When in human history has encountering a more advanced civilisation ever been good for a less advanced civilisation?
You need to play more computer games with benevolent overlords. Albeit these are few and far between.
Re:And what're we gonna do if we find any? (Score:2, Funny)
Don't worry.
Any probe we send out there will come back to "remind" us.
Re:That's pretty cool. (Score:4, Funny)
That's why I like film "Liquid Sky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Sky)." Instead of coming to the Earth to help us or destroy us, the aliens came to Earth looking for drugs.
Certainly a welcome break from the usual Hollywood dichotomy.
Keebler (Score:3, Funny)
Awesome. I lead the machining operations (Project Keebler) for the honeycombing of the mirror core. So long ago, another time in my life.
Re:Not only has it launched... (Score:3, Funny)
Also, telemetry from the on-board AI's neural net has already been translated as meaning:
"Pfft, just when I'd found a nice Earth-like planet to live on WHICH IS WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO the buggers at NASA kicked me off it".
Re:And for the conspiracy theorists: (Score:3, Funny)
2. THEY know that Kepler will be pointed the wrong way anyway.
If Kepler is pointed at Earth then it would stand a much better change of finding an Earth-like planet, no?
Re:That's pretty cool. (Score:2, Funny)
When in human history has encountering a more advanced civilisation ever been good for a less advanced civilisation?
Japan didn't do too badly; once they realised how backward they were they acted quickly to catch up, taking less than ninety years from the Black Ships to Pearl Harbour.
And then they got nuked.