Kepler the special Telescope with its 95 million pixel Camera,
Launches from Canaveral, tonight (March 6th)
It will be looking at the same area in the Milky Way for some 4 years or more. Detecting Earth size planets for life.
These Planets will be found by Kepler observing the winking of
these small planets, going behind their Sun, or from the lights of an advanced Civilisation.
Kepler is so sensitive it can detect a single outside light being switched off in a small town, from space.

At the end of 3 years, Kepler should be able to tell us whether there are thousands of planets with life on them, or very very few...to non-at-all.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/launch/webcast.html

Sure do live in exciting times, eh. 'We' may detect life several parsecs away before we find it in our own back yard.

Related article:

http://www.universetoday.com/2009/05/13/...be-intelligent/

"...And, though Kepler may advance the search for Earth-like planets, it won’t tell us whether there’s life there, or whether there has been life there in the past."

[quote=Mike Kremer]

Update upon Kepler.
It has been recording hundreds of planet transits since its launch 3 months ago.
I thought you would like to see the area of sky that Kepler is recording for the next 3.5 years.
Plus the two areas in this enlarged NASA image that Kepler is currently studying, in its search for livable planets.

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/330929main_Kepler_multipanel_big.jpg

(Click bottom right corner of picture to show very big)