A portrait getting from website of NASA on March 6, 2009 shows the Milky Way Galaxy and Kepler Telescope Search space. The Kepler Telescope, which designed to search a nearby region of the Milky Way for Earth- size planets orbiting in the habitable zone of stars like the sun, was launched at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday night.(Xinhua Photo)

After a commissioning period lasting about two months, Kepler will begin its job of looking for planets. Its isolated perch behind Earth will give the telescope an unobstructed view of a single, very large patch of sky near the Cygnus and Lyra constellations.

"We will monitor a wide range of stars; from small cool ones, where planets must circle closely to stay warm, to stars bigger and hotter than the sun, where planets must stay well clear to avoid being roasted," said William Borucki, science principal investigator for the mission at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. Borucki has been working on the mission for 17 years.

"Everything about the mission is optimized to find Earth-size planets with the potential for life, to help us answer the question -- are Earths bountiful or is our planet unique?"

Kepler will find planets through the transit method. Planets that happen to pass directly in front of their stars from Earth's point of view cause the stars to dim by almost imperceptible amounts. Kepler's powerful camera, the largest ever flown in space, can see the faintest of these "winks."

"Trying to detect Jupiter-size planets crossing in front of their stars is like trying to measure the effect of a mosquito flying by a car's headlight," said Fanson. "Finding Earth-sized planets is like trying to detect a very tiny flea in that same headlight."

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Editor:Yang Jie