Kepler Mission Goes Looking for Extrasolar Planets

This article talks in detail about the Kepler Mission. This mission is bent on finding new extrasolar planets, hopefully of Earth size and within the habitable zone (where water would be liquid). The mission will monitor some 100,000 stars waiting to see when/if the star is obscured by an orbiting planet between earth and the star (like an eclipse). From the amount of diminished light, scientists shoudl be able to determine the size and orbital distance of any planets found. The concern at this point is how many planets will be found. We don't know how rare planets are, especially Earth-sized ones. This mission may shed some light on that, and if we're really lucky, a new planet(s) will be found that is a candidate for harboring life. Mars may have disappointed us by not having the life we theorized about, but maybe any new planet found by the Kepler Mission will revive the dream of extraterrestrial life.