Tag: "exoplanet"

Kepler 22B: Exoplanet Dress-up Doll

Kepler 22B: Exoplanet Dress-up Doll

It's 600 light years from Earth, orbits a star very similar to our Sun in a period of about 290 days, and has a diameter about two and a half times that of Earth. What is it? It's the NASA Kepler mission's most recent exciting confirmed discovery, the extrasolar-planet Kepler 22B.

 
Ben Burress

Post on Dec 16, 2011 by from

Kepler's Smokin' Performance: Zero to 68 in 4 Months!

Kepler's Smokin' Performance: Zero to 68 in 4 Months!

NASA's Kepler mission announces the results from its first four months of observations: 1235 possible planets around other stars!

 
Ben Burress

Post on Feb 11, 2011 by

It's a Long, Long Way to Alderaan, but Kepler 10B is a Sight Closer

It's a Long, Long Way to Alderaan, but Kepler 10B is a Sight Closer

Among the thousands of vivid and unique Earth-sized planets we have come to know through Science Fiction, NASA's Kepler mission has now given us our first real one: meet Kepler 10b.

 
Ben Burress

Post on Jan 14, 2011 by

Kepler Spots Hundreds of Possible Planets

Kepler Spots Hundreds of Possible Planets

It's been a little over a year since NASA's Kepler telescope was launched into space. It's mission: to stare unblinkingly at 156,000 stars in a patch of sky in the constellations Lyra and Cygnus on a quest to spot extrasolar planets transiting their stars. Results so far? As anticipated…astounding.

 
Ben Burress

Post on Jul 02, 2010 by

NASA's Kepler: Staring Down Earth-like Planets

NASA's Kepler: Staring Down Earth-like Planets

For several years there has been a lot of buzz about the detection of extra-solar planets, or exoplanets: planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. However, due to the limits in technology and observational capabilities, to date only large, gas giant planets orbiting close to the stars (so called "Hot Jupiters") have been found, with a possible exception or two.

 
Ben Burress

Post on Feb 27, 2009 by