SETI 2.0.

“‘We’ve looked at far, far fewer than 10 million stars since 1960, and so we really can’t say anything worthwhile yet about whether or not intelligent life is out there,’ Drake said. ‘Given our capabilities now, we might have something useful to say one way or another in 25 years.'”

In the wake of all these new planets, the WP takes a gander at the new and improved SETI program. “‘We’re finding new extra-solar planets every week,’ she said. ‘We now know microbes can live in extreme environments on Earth thought to be impossible for life not very long ago, and so many more things seem possible in terms of life beyond Earth.’”

Waterworld.

“Charbonneau said it’s unlikely that any life on the newly discovered planet would be similar to life on Earth, but he didn’t discount the idea entirely. ‘This planet probably does have liquid water,’ he said.” Don’t mean to turn GitM into the We Found a Planet Weekly, but this also seems like big doings: Astronomers discover a watery, Earth-like planet relatively nearby. (As in 40 light years away, orbiting GJ 1214b.) “While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth, the discovery is being heralded as a major breakthrough in humanity’s search for life on other planets.” I’ll say.

Update: “‘I was instantly excited because the glint reminded me of an image of our own planet taken from orbit around Earth, showing a reflection of sunlight on an ocean,’ Stephan said. ‘But we also had to do more work to make sure the glint we were seeing wasn’t lightning or an erupting volcano.’” Might be some more water closer to home too: NASA confirms liquid on Saturn’s moon of Titan.

SpaceShipTwo Point Oh!

“‘We want this program to be a whole new beginning in a commercial era of space travel,’ Branson said.” You and me both, brother. A little over a year after unveiling the White Knight Two, i.e. the mothership, Richard Branson and Burt Rutan show off the actual cruising craft, SpaceShipTwo.

“SpaceShipTwo is based on Rutan’s design of a stubby white prototype called SpaceShipOne.In 2004, SpaceShipOne captured the $10 million Ansari X Prize by becoming the first privately manned craft to reach space…SpaceShipTwo, built from lightweight composite materials and powered by a hybrid rocket motor, is similar to its prototype cousin with three exceptions. It’s twice as large, measuring 60 feet long with a roomy cabin about the size of a Falcon 900 executive jet.” And the price of a flight is still $200,000 American, so keep saving those pennies.

Hiding in Plain Sight.

“It could be a planet, though even if it isn’t, there’s plenty of reason to be excited. For one thing, astronomers got an image of it. The reason it’s so tough to image a planet is its proximity to the blinding light of its star, which in this case is about a million times brighter. It would be like trying to see a candle burning next to the beam of a million-candlepower searchlight.” Astronomers spot a new planet called GJ 785 B — by looking right at it. “In short, says McElwain, ‘We’re using state-of-the-art instruments on a state-of-the-art telescope.'”

Next Stop, Alderaan.

“‘We are still coming to terms with just how smooth the LHC commissioning is going,’ said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer as the record was announced. ‘It is fantastic.’” Atoms or systems into ruin hurl’d, And now a bubble burst, and now a world…Also in science news, the now armed and fully operational Large Hadron Collider is breaking particle beam records as it warms up for the Big Show, when its handlers will work to recreate the conditions at one billionth of a second after the Big Bang. “Said Heuer: ‘We are continuing to take it step by step, and there is a lot to do before we start [first] physics in 2010. I’m keeping my champagne on ice until then.’” (By way of Dangerous Meta.)

Water, Water Everywhere…

“‘The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon,’ the space agency said in a written statement.” It’s official: Data from NASA’s LCROSS impact of a few weeks ago confirms the recent findings of Chandraayan-1: It ain’t Hoth or Rura Penthe, but there is a “significant amount” of water on the moon, like, ice-field size.

“The amount of water they found in the plume was a couple of hundred kilograms in total, but that indicates there is a lot more still lying on the surface. They don’t know how much exactly just yet.” (As we found out recently, the same might also hold true of Mars.)

“‘The full understanding of the LCROSS data may take some time. The data is that rich,’ said Colaprete. ‘Along with the water in Cabeus, there are hints of other intriguing substances. The permanently shadowed regions of the moon are truly cold traps, collecting and preserving material over billions of years.‘” I’m very reminded of James Hogan’s Inherit the Stars right now. Also, it’s probably about time to start taking lunar exploration a bit more seriously again, eh?

Mars Needs Women…and Men.

“The European Space Agency is seeking volunteers for a 520 day mission to Mars. The trip will begin in early 2010 and include 30 days on the surface of the red planet. The only requirements are that candidates must be 20-50 years old, in good health and no taller than six feet. You must be able to speak English or Russian and have experience in medicine, biology or engineering. You also must be a resident of one of the ESA Member States, which rules out Americans, but not our Canadian brothers & sisters.“

Down and Out in Paris or London (or Toronto)? Well, if you’re short of cash and heavy on free time, it seems the ESA is running a 520-day Mission-to-Mars simulation. Please don’t be alarmed just because this is how Capricorn One starts. “If you’re interested in volunteering, more information can be found here.” (RT @Joe Hill.)

The World According to Mij.

“‘This film integrates my life’s achievements,’ he told me. ‘It’s the most complicated stuff anyone’s ever done.” Another time, he said, “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.’” On the eve of Avatar, the New Yorker‘s Dana Goodyear delivers a long and interesting profile of take-no-guff, autocratic auteur James Cameron. (“A small, loyal band of cast and crew works with him repeatedly; they call the dark side of his personality Mij–Jim backward.“)

The whole thing is definitely worth a read, but this caught me eye further down the piece: “‘We should ultimately have colonies on Mars, for purposes of expanding the footprint of the human race,’ Cameron says. He shares with the Mars Society the opinion that NASA — on whose advisory council he sat for three years — has become too risk-averse. ‘We’ve become cowards, basically,’ he says. ‘As a society, we’re just fat and happy and comfortable and we’ve lost the edge.’” Listen to the King of the World — he’s dead on.

Chandraayan’s Tears.

”This will create a considerable stir. It was wholly unexpected,’ said one scientist also involved in Chandrayaan-1. ‘People thought that Chandrayaan was just lagging behind the rest but the science that’s coming out, it’s going to be agenda-setting.’” Well, this definitely changes things if it holds up: India’s first mission to the moon discovers “evidence of large quantities of water on its surface(!)”

“Another lunar scientist familiar with the findings said: ‘This is the most exciting breakthrough in at least a decade. And it will probably change the face of lunar exploration for the next decade.’” NASA comments tomorrow, so be ready to hum a few bars…

Rock of Ages.

“‘We would have never dreamed you would find a rocky planet so close,’ he said. ‘Its year is less than one of our days.'” Astronomers discover the first rocky planet outside our solar system in CoRoT-7b.

But don’t prep the colony ship just yet: “It is so close to the star it orbits ‘that the place may well look like Dante’s Inferno, with a probable temperature on its ‘day face’ above 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,000 degrees Celsius) and minus-328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 200 degrees Celsius) on its night face,’ said Didier Queloz of Geneva Observatory in Switzerland, the project leader.” Eh, we’ll work with it.