The search for extraterrestrial intelligence in the Kepler field is well underway.  As discussed previously, we're dividing our 24 hours of observing time between targeted observation of particular Kepler Objects of Interest (KOIs) that appear conducive to known life and a scan of the entire field. We have completed 18 hours of observation so far, and we are well on target to accomplish our observing plan.

The 86 KOIs selected for the targeted portion of our search were chosen based on several criteria. Astrobiologists and astronomers often use the term 'habitable zone,' which strictly speaking denotes the region around a star whereby liquid water could be maintained on the surface of an orbiting planet. The Kepler Science Team has calculated rough equilibrium temperatures for all of the KOIs discovered thus far. 71 of the 86 candidates in our targeted search are stars in the Kepler field with one or more KOIs with an inferred temperature between about -50 C and 100 C. Additionally, all stars with greater than 4 KOIs in orbit or a KOI with a period greater than 50 days and a radius less than 3 times the Earth are included. We also included the star hosting the first confirmed rocky planet outside our solar system, Kepler 10b.

You can download the complete list of targets, available in several formats:

Kepler_SETI_targets.pdf
Kepler_SETI_targets.txt
Kepler_SETI_targets.xls