How many extrasolar planets will Kepler find?

[Matthewobamahater]

How many planets do you expect "Kepler" telescope to find over the next 3.5 years.


I'm putting this here because there is a lot more people and extrasolar planets are very interesting and important in the grandscale of things. They will become more important as the years go by and we start finding some earth like ones. So this has something to do with this board in that way.

To make it able to stay in this forum!

Ok, if we find a liveable planet with the Kepler should Washington DC fund the building of a space ship to go to it.

[gattaca]

sorry but nothing to do with washington politics at all..

[Matthewobamahater]

It has a lot to do with it being that Washington is funding it. In two it is of great interest of all humanity. Another thing is that Washington will make the choice on do we go to this planet or not!

[gattaca]

but you didnt mention anything about a budget or the cost of the program or what it has to do with obama.. or anything to do with politics..

your asking how many planets it could find.. asking a scientific question and pertending its washington politics doesnt make it so..

[Matthewobamahater]

Ok, if we find a liveable planet with the Kepler should Washington DC fund the building of a space ship to go to it.

[gattaca]

well i do think we should.. i think science is always worth the money..

[gwhughes]

(x)

[Matthewobamahater]

I think 1,000-9,999 planets because it is looking at 100,000 stars and I believe that there is a planet at least one around 1 and 10 if not more stars.

[waynevan]

Even if they found a planet that DEFINITELY had intelligent life forms, it would still be a trip of thousands of years in even our fastest drawing board space ships. That are THAT far away. It might give us a better direction to point listening devices though...........

[Chucky]

Even if they found a planet that DEFINITELY had intelligent life forms, it would still be a trip of thousands of years in even our fastest drawing board space ships. That are THAT far away. It might give us a better direction to point listening devices though...........
All it's doing is checking stars for something in orbit, and then if it finds something, getting an idea of its size and temperature.

But even if there was some sort of "intelligence sensor", we could be sensing something that has long since disappeared. I think it was Asimov who pointed out the problem with trying to find aliens is not only spatial (distance) but temporal (time).

[Chucky]

I think 1,000-9,999 planets because it is looking at 100,000 stars and I believe that there is a planet at least one around 1 and 10 if not more stars.
As good a guess as any.

The cynical answer is "as many as it takes to continue to justify the program".

[badkarma]

Ok, if we find a liveable planet with the Kepler should Washington DC fund the building of a space ship to go to it.
fund what? We currently have zero hope of reaching another solar system. We may never have that ability. where would you suggest Washington put said money?