...and they still want to 'retire' the Hubble????

Finally, planet hunters see the light

By Peter N. Spotts | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

The capture of first light from planets outside our solar system may usher in a golden age of discovery.

It's taken 10 years since the first Jupiter-like planet was discovered around a sun-like star, but for astronomers searching for worlds beyond our solar system, it's been worth the wait.

This week, two teams working independently announced the first unambiguous detection of light from planets orbiting other sun-like stars. The achievements, researchers say, help set humanity on the doorstep of a golden age in exploring solar systems beyond our own.

Until now astronomers have detected their quarry through fleeting shadows or the subtle quiver of underbrush. They've had to rely on the faint dimming of a star as a planet swings in front of it or, more often, tiny wobbles that planets impart to their parent stars as they orbit. Although the technique the two teams used also is indirect, it finally reveals infrared light coming directly from the planets.

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http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0324/p03s01-stss.html

is if it starts snapping photos of gawdjeezis

and massive increases in the already bloated and inefficient military budget (which doesn't even cover the war in Iraq) are making it harder and harder for things like the Hubble Telescope