Archive | Kepler

The sixteenth observing campaign of the Kepler spacecraft’s K2 extended mission is now underway. The campaign has prospects for discoveries among 30,000 objects in the direction of the constellation Cancer. The cartoon illustrates some of the objects of interest that Kepler is observing for 80 days, from Dec. 7 to Feb. 25, 2018. original

The sixteenth observing campaign of the Kepler spacecraft’s K2 extended mission is now underway. The campaign has prospects for discoveries among 30,000 objects in the direction of the constellation Cancer. The cartoon illustrates some of the objects of interest that Kepler is observing for 80 days, from Dec. 7 to Feb. 25, 2018. original

Some 1,500 light years from Earth, a mystery of stellar proportions is playing out. The world has the chance to watch, as the scientific process and the mystery continue to unfold. original

Kepler’s K2 Mission Continues to Eye New Patches of Sky original

Researchers have a new model for explaining how clouds move and change shape in brown dwarfs, using insights from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. original

While the mechanics of a total solar eclipse are actually rather mundane, different flavors of this phenomenon make some very sophisticated science possible. original

In the search for planets similar to our own, an important point of comparison is the planet’s density. original

A conversation with Geert Barentsen, the Guest Observer Office director for the Kepler and K2 mission at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. original

Originally aired on February 27, 2009, a conversation on the Kepler Mission with Principal Investigator William Borucki, Deputy Principal Investigator David Koch, and Kepler Science Council Member Alan Boss from the Carnegie Institute of Washington. original

NASA’s Kepler space telescope team has released a mission catalog of planet candidates that introduces 219 new planet candidates, 10 of which are near-Earth size and orbiting in their star’s habitable zone, which is the range of distance from a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of a rocky planet. original

Highlighted are new planet candidates from the eighth Kepler planet candidate catalog that are less than twice the size of Earth and orbit in the stars’ habitable zone – the range of distances from a star where liquid water could pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. original

A conversation with Susan Thompson, Kepler research scientist for the SETI Institute at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. original

This diagram illustrates how planets are assembled and sorted into two distinct size classes. First, the rocky cores of planets are formed from smaller pieces. Then, the gravity of the planets attracts hydrogen and helium gas. Finally, the planets are “baked” by the starlight and lose some gas. original