other such stars nearby. The larger of the spacecraft's two telescopes attempts to find the planets using the transit method.

The initial plan was for a December 5, 2008 flyby of Comet Boethin, with the spacecraft coming within 435 mi. The spacecraft did not carry a second impactor to collide with the comet and would observe the comet to compare it to various characteristics found on 9P/Tempel. A'Hearn,