Tag: Kepler
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Astronomers’ latest analysis turns ‘alien megastructure’ star into a triple mystery
This illustration shows a star behind a shattered comet. Astronomers say it’s possible that such a phenomenon could explain some aspects of the dimming pattern for a mysterious star called KIC 8462852, but not all aspects. (Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech) It’s been almost a year since astronomers first speculated that a strangely dimming star called…
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Revived Kepler mission confirms 104 new planets, and two could be a lot like Earth
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Kepler telescope observing four planets as they pass across the disk of their parent star. The comparative sizes of the spacecraft and the star are not to scale. (Credit: NASA / JPL) Astronomers say they’ve confirmed the existence of 104 worlds to add to the list of extrasolar planets detected…
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Youngest planet spotted around alien star
An artist’s conception shows the planet K2-33b crossing the disk of its parent star. (Credi: NASA / JPL-Caltech) Scientists say they’ve detected a giant planet circling a star that’s only 5 million to 10 million years old, which would make it the youngest exoplanet ever identified. The super-Neptune-sized planet traces a super-close-in orbit, making a complete swing…
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Dwarfy McPlanetface? The icy world known as 2007 OR10 cries out for a name
An illustration lines up the solar system’s four largest dwarf planets, with 2007 OR10 in the middle of the pack. (Credit: Andras Pal / Konkoly Observatory, Ivan Eder / Hungarian Astronomical Association, NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI) Observations made by NASA’s Kepler space telescope suggest that the icy world known as 2007 OR10 is bigger than…
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Kepler adds 1,284 exoplanets to its total
STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION This artist’s concept depicts select planetary discoveries made to date by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. Credits: NASA/W. Stenzel A statistical analysis of data collected by NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler space telescope during its initial mission shows a better than 99 percent chance that 1,284 worlds previously classified as “candidates”…
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1,284 new worlds! Kepler mission doubles its tally of planets in one fell swoop
A graphic shows the diversity of planets. (Credit: NASA) The scientists behind NASA’s Kepler mission are using statistics to put their campaign to identify new planets into overdrive: New software that automates the process has verified 1,284 candidates as genuine planets rather than celestial “impostors,” more than doubling its database of confirmed worlds. “This is the…
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Kepler telescope recovered from spacecraft emergency
Artist’s concept of the Kepler observatory with survey regions highlighted in the sky. Credit: NASA NASA’s Kepler planet-searching spacecraft is stable and out of emergency mode, officials said Monday, and the observatory is downlinking data to help engineers determine what caused it to suspend science operations last week. “On Sunday morning, the spacecraft reached a…
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Kepler space telescope in emergency mode
Artist’s concept of the Kepler observatory. Credit: NASA Mission controllers are trying to diagnose a problem that put NASA’s Kepler planet-hunting observatory in emergency mode nearly 75 million miles from Earth this week. Circling the sun in an orbit just outside Earth’s, Kepler is in an extended mission searching for worlds around other stars. Engineers…
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‘Alien megastructure’ revisited: Oddly dimming star poses new mystery
An artist’s representation shows a crumbling megastructure known as a Dyson sphere orbiting KIC 8462852. (Credit: Danielle Futselaar / SETI International) He’s not saying it’s aliens – but an astronomer has raised new questions about KIC 8462852, the strange star that stirred up a debate about “alien megastructures” months ago. In a paper submitted to Astrophysical Journal…
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Year In Review, Part 1: To the edge of the solar system and beyond
Space exploration in 2015 was an unprecedented series of firsts and major achievements. But for NASA and the world’s space communities, nothing quite captured the spirit and excitement of exploration more than the heralded exploration of Pluto and the detection of the first Earth-like exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star. Year In Review Part 1 – Pluto…