MNN - Mother Nature Network

Is there anybody out there? Astronomers and dreamers have been asking this question since the dawn of humanity. And yet, the mystery remains. Are we the only life forms in the universe, or are neighbors like us lurking just beyond the reaches of our solar system? NASA has made it a mission to discover the truth.  In March 2009, the space agency launched the Kepler Mission, a NASA Discovery program designed to look for possible life-supporting planets. In just the first 16 months of operation, Kepler has discovered 2,326 potential planets. Once confirmed by follow-up studies, these potential discoveries could significantly raise the tally of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) well over its current count of 702. Here are 10 images from NASA depicting these wild worlds.