A satellite probe launched today in Kazakhstan will spend the next few years searching the skies for small, rocky planets orbiting stars in the "Goldilocks zone," where light intensity is just right for supporting life. The search must be conducted from space, scientists say, because distortion from Earth's atmosphere makes ground-based telescopes unable to see anything but huge planets--gas giants like Jupiter. The probe is expected to find between 10 and 50 planets, many of which could be capable of supporting life. The planets would be too far away for us to visit in the foreseeable future, but the search will give scientists an idea of how often such planets form.

Source: Ian Sample, Planet-hunter searches for second Earth. The Guardian, December 28.

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