Tag Archives | planethunt

A conversation with Jessie Dotson, project scientist for the Kepler spacecraft’s K2 mission at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley. original

Astronomers use NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope to confirm the orbital period of the outermost TRAPPIST-1 planet. original

This illustration shows a hypothetical planet covered in water around the binary star system of Kepler-35A and B. With two suns in its sky, Luke Skywalker’s home planet Tatooine in “Star Wars” looks like a parched, sandy desert world. In real life, we know that two-star systems can indeed support planets. original

Three extraordinary planet-hunters have been recognized by TIME Magazine as this year’s top 100 most influential people: Natalie Batalha from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley; Michael Gillon from the University of Liège in Belgium; and Guillem Anglada-Escudé from the Queen Mary University in London. original

NASA’s Kepler Mission Planet-Hunter Natalie Batalha Named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential List original

A new study explores potential climates of a planet orbiting two suns. original

During the period of Dec. 15, 2016 and March 4, the Kepler spacecraft, operating as the K2 mission, observed TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star home to seven Earth-size planets that are likley rocky. At image center is the light from TRAPPIST-1 collected by Kepler’s onboard camera. original

New observational data of the TRAPPIST-1 system from Kepler are expected to allow astronomers to refine the previous measurements of six planets, pin down the orbital period and mass of the seventh and farthest planet, TRAPPIST-1h, and learn more about the magnetic activity of the host star. original

NASA scientists are expanding the definition of habitable zones (the area around a star where a life-sustaining planet might lurk), taking into account the effect of stellar activity that can threaten exoplanets’ atmospheres with oxygen loss. original

Neptune-mass worlds are likely the most common type of planet to form in the icy outer realms of planetary systems. original

William J. Borucki has been named a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for distinguished contributions to the field of astrophysics, with his leadership in the Kepler Mission leading to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets. original

The team has confirmed that Module 4 has failed but the K2 mission marches on with Campaign 11, observing the Galactic Center and Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus. original

NASA’s Kepler and Swift missions have found rapidly rotating stars producing more than 100 times our own sun’s peak X-ray emission. Spinning so fast they resemble pumpkins, the stars likely formed by mergers of sun-like stars. original