After nine years, NASA's exoplanet-hunting Kepler mission came to a final end Thursday as the space agency sent the radio commands ordering the onboard computer to shut down the unmanned space telescope's systems.
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The pioneering planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope has finally reached the end of its service life and will be switched off permanently. NASA announced today that the aging, unmanned spacecraft has run out of the propellant needed to keep it from tumbling and must be retired.
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Although it’s basically a sure thing that exomoons are out there, astronomers haven’t been able to spot any – until now. Scientists using NASA’s Hubble and Kepler space telescopes have found evidence of a large moon orbiting a gas giant planet some 8,000 light-years away.
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NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has been on shaky ground for some time now. Mission scientists have now placed it into sleep mode in hopes of salvaging what might be its last cache of data, though there are no guarantees.
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On June 6, 2018, NASA announced that the Kepler space observatory was reaching the end of its life.Now that Kepler is approaching its final days, let's look back at its remarkable nine-year career and how it has changed our views about the universe.
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NASA isn’t done with the Kepler Space Telescope just yet. Its scientists have awoken the deep space probe to gather science data yet again, though with an unknown amount of fuel and a compromised performance, there’s no telling how successful the venture will be.
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Watery planets beyond the Solar System may be more common than previously thought, making up 35 percent of exoplanets two to four times the size of the Earth. According to a new study, many planets are made up of half water by mass as opposed to the 0.02 percent water that the Earth has.
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When looking for exoplanets that could potentially support life, astronomers start with those orbiting within the “habitable zone." A new study has found that two of the most promising planets are now even more promising, with axial tilts that likely give them regular seasons and a stable climate.
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NASA engineers have determined that the unmanned Kepler Space Telescope has only enough propellant left in its attitude control system to keep it properly oriented for a few more months. When this runs out, the spacecraft will no longer be able to collect data or transmit it to Earth.
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Red dwarf stars are of particular interest to astronomers hunting down distant worlds. The latest study of Kepler data has now identified 15 new exoplanets around red dwarfs, including a system of three “Super-Earths” – one of which appears to be orbiting within the host star’s habitable zone.
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