Tag Archives | planethunt

Now in its eighth observing campaign, the Kepler spacecraft continues to operate beautifully as the K2 mission. original

From exoplanets to supernovae discoveries, a spacecraft’s second life continues to shine as K2. original

NASA astronauts “use the force” every time they launch … from a certain point of view. We have real-world droids and ion engines. We’ve seen dual-sun planets like Tatooine and a moon that eerily resembles the Death Star. original

The fantasy creations of the “Star Wars” universe are strikingly similar to real planets in our own Milky Way galaxy. original

This illustration shows a cool star, called W1906+40, marked by a raging storm near one of its poles. original

A star the size of Jupiter has a raging, giant storm. original

New clues emerge in the mystery of a star with odd light patterns. original

Astronomers have detected the first planetary object transiting a white dwarf using data from the K2 mission, confirming a decade-old theory. original

Earth came early to the party in the evolving universe. According to a new theoretical study, when our solar system was born 4.6 billion years ago only eight percent of the potentially habitable planets that will ever form in the universe existed. original

This artistic animation depicts one possible appearance of the planet Kepler-452b, the first near-Earth-size world to be found in the habitable zone of star that is similar to our sun. The planet’s rotation is sped up. original

Kepler planet candidates by size as of July 2015. original

The tightly packed system, named Kepler-444, is home to five small planets in very compact orbits that formed when the Milky Way galaxy was a youthful two billion years old. original

Scientists were excited to discover clear skies on a relatively small planet, about the size of Neptune, using the combined power of NASA’s Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler space telescopes. The view from this planet — were it possible to fly a spaceship into its gaseous layers — is illustrated at right. original