The French-led Corot mission has taken off from Kazakhstan on a quest to find planets outside our Solar System.
The space telescope will monitor about 120,000 stars for tiny dips in brightness that result from planets passing across their faces.
Full Story »
Quick and comprehensive account for the COROT mission: observing stars' behavior ("starquakes") and, most exciting, dark spots on solar surfaces, indicating the presence of rotating planets (many gas giants like Jupiter and, luckily, about a dozen Earth-like planets). The satellite will survey an impressive amount of stars (120.000), so the probability of detecting planets like Terra increases.
I have no doubt in the years to come they will be able to discover a number of Earth-like planets orbiting stars throughout our galaxy. But figuring out a way to cross the vast reaches of space to get there -- aye...that's the rub!
Retrieving Comments
