Exoplanets, Extremophiles and Earth2

NASA have announced the discovery of 1,284 Earth-like planets by their Kepler mission.
This news was almost an anti-climax, as there had been quite a buzz in the online world , with many predicting an imminent announcement confirming the existence of - gasp - aliens ; which is becoming almost a cliché itself, when any NASA announcement is expected.
I've also noticed the change in the tone.

Artist depiction of possible Earth2   NASA

This revelation seems to reinforce the idea that there is a second Earth out there, so moving away from the 'discovery' of alien life in whatever form it takes, we are now, apparently, seeking a mirror image or close match to our own world.
Surely this belittles the excitement of the potential for aquatic life in one of the many hidden seas in our own solar system - Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Ceres, all of which are candidates .
Did we decide that alien squid - jellyfish types were not good enough ?
Are we intent on refining the search to define extraterrestrial life as EXACTLY how we want it ?
In which case, what are we looking for in an alternative Earth ?
A planet which conveys the idyllic rural bliss of a painting by Turner ?

Tivoli     William Turner                          collection of the Tate

A world unsullied by the Industrial Revolution, where man, beast and nature work in harmony ?
Or a world where society has developed to an extent, with trade routes enabling the use of fine spices and foods, yet slave labour has not been introduced ?
In other words, do we seek a utopia where we never 'fell from grace' ?

I worry that the imposed view of an idyllic Earth2 can only ever fall short of our inflated hopes.
The phrase 'barking up the wrong tree' comes to mind
Also ' ...be careful what you wish for '.

I think that I am reading too much into the announcement itself - after all, the search for Earth - like worlds is the remit of Kepler, searching for Exoplanets in the ' Goldilocks' zone of other stars, and applying the chemical criteria which we know to be fruitful for life.
The discovery of 1,284 such candidates does not mean that we won't continue to examine our own solar system for signs of life - it just seems that we have almost resigned ourselves to knowing that, beyond the possibility of extremophiles or alien jellyfish, and long dead civilisations on Mars, there isn't really much potential here.
The grim ' reality' we face is the Terraforming of Mars, with all the unglamourous work that entails.
 

Oxygen has been detected on Mars

Speaking of Mars -
There was a smaller announcement of the discovery of oxygen in the upper atmosphere of Mars, but that was quickly cast aside - after all, oxygen on Mars may be beneficial for the imminent colonising and Terraforming, but it is hardly 'news' - we learned some time ago that there was once fresh water on Mars, and oxygen is a common factor in the structure of water.

Meanwhile back on Earth...
Apparently the molten interior of our world is far livelier than previously thought.
This leads to an ever-changing yo-yo of a surface.
Personally, I don't see any difference  thanks to this new revelation, but then - hey, I only live here, and my experience is not on a geological timescale.
In other news, here is a link to a global map in real-time of wind direction !
You're Welcome !

Until next time !

Power drains, Blue Mars and Boiling Rivers

 
Hello, everyone. My apologies for delay in this post, but my Google has been playing up.
Terrible thing, I know, but such is modern life.
If I didn't know better, I'd say that dark forces were at work ; after all, my microblog with its puny readership of two people and a bored translator in the Steppes must surely be inching closer to world domination .
The blog itself has been ' playing up ' , as I received a comment on the last post, and my attempts to respond were deleted mid-air, it seems.
So, in lieu of a response, this post shall be my reply to the comment.

A damaged magnet in LHC 2008

Even the Large Hadron Collider, the worlds largest and most expensive physics experiment is vulnerable.
The Large Hadron Collider uses a lot of electricity - 13 trillion electrovolts, following its recent upgrade.
This puts it on a par with the nearby city of Geneva.
Part of the immense power load is drawn from France , as well as Switzerland.
The French side of things is overseen by EDF, who impose strict conditions (including the fact that the LHC cannot function for certain days of the year ).
A lot of the power is used to maintain a constant temperature inside the collider, that is equal to deep space  (-271.25°c ).
this ensures that there is no danger of meltdown.
Well, that's the theory.
My last post told of animal intervention, where weasels, birds and raccoons had scuppered the world of science.
Even a multi-billion dollar enterprise like the LHC is vulnerable to 'Acts Of God' - or at least the Natural World.

I try not to be too topical on this blog, as it could be weeks, months or even years after the event that people read of it, but a rare occurence is due tomorrow, May 9th 2016 , with the transit of Mercury across the sun.
Like the passing of a comet, the transit of a planet across the sun is considered symbolic.
The transit of Mercury is apparently good for catching up with correspondence, communications, etc.

In other news from Mars, we hear that the water flows we see may be boiling - and parts of the planet are blue, as opposed to red !

Nilae Fossae is a blue area of Mars  

Also, staying with the martian thing, NASA have announced the discovery of oxygen in small amounts on Mars.
Haven't we been here before ?
Personally, I can't get very excited - the problem is that most of the atmosphere on Mars has gone, evaporated into the ether, millenia ago - so how does this find affect the present situation ?
I suppose it lends weight to any proposed Terraforming initiative, so the recent Space X landings and proposed 'Red Dragon' mission , would seem to contribute to this ever-increasing excitement as Earth2 becomes an almost tangible prospect.
.