Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Today it was announced that a potentially habitable planet has been found.
First, a disclaimer: I am a space/science geek, and this news was great for me. I read a lot of books, mainly Science Fiction, and my favorites are always the ones regarding space travel and finding intelligent life on other planets. (For instance, right now I'm reading The Sunborn by Gregory Benford. I've had a difficult time putting this one down.
So, the article details that an earth-like world has been found 20 light years away. My initial thought was - let's send some type of probe there immediately! Of course, with the politics involved with NASA, I doubt this will happen. Even more reason to start pushing the privatization of space flight. I'd like to see that happen during my lifetime, though I'm not holding my breath.
So, I'll keep abreast of that story. I think it is pretty interesting, and hopefully it will prod one of the various world space agencies to take some steps to develop a way to get there.