Kepler Mission Options

[imran]

This NASA Discovery mission is to be launched in June 2008 and will search for Earth-size and smaller planets. Launch was originally scheduled in 2007 but delayed by 8 months due to "funding constraints".

Here's the official web site:
http://www.kepler.arc.nasa.gov/

[Guest_PhilCo126_*]

Talking about mission life time; there was already talk of a possible extension to six years, which would allow improved observations of more transits to detect smaller planets and of course finding planets in larger period orbits

Meanwhile:
http://www.astronomynow.com/090310KeckandK...joinforces.html

[HughFromAlice]

improved observations

Ref the article: Interesting!!! Especially ..... "Furthermore, Marcy and his team can use the Keck-calculated mass and Kepler-calculated diameter to determine the planet's density". (My bolding)

[Hungry4info]

Ref the article: Interesting!!! Especially ..... "Furthermore, Marcy and his team can use the Keck-calculated mass and Kepler-calculated diameter to determine the planet's density". (My bolding)

I am unsure why you bring attention to this. Density = mass / volume, with the mass and volume of a planet, we can calculate its density fairly easily. The density of transiting planets is not unmeasured.
To name a few examples:
HD 209458 b -> ~ 0.41 g cm^-3.
HD 149026 b -> ~ 0.82 g cm^-3.
HAT-P-2 b -> ~11.9 g cm^-3.
HD 189733 b -> ~ 1.06 g cm^-3.
TrES-3 b -> ~ 0.99 g cm^-3.

And so on...

[AndyG]

.
HAT-P-2 b -> ~11.9 g cm^-3.

Denser than lead? That - Jovian cores aside - doesn't seem very planet-like to me.

Andy