What did the Kepler telescope discover?
What did the Kepler telescope discover?
NASA’s Kepler mission revolutionized our scientific understanding of our place in the cosmos by discovering that: Planets outnumber the stars. Kepler has proven there are more planets than stars in our galaxy — and knowing that revolutionizes our scientific understanding of our place in the cosmos.
WHO launched Kepler?
Kepler space telescope
| Spacecraft properties | |
|---|---|
| Launch date | March 7, 2009, 03:49:57 UTC |
| Rocket | Delta II (7925-10L) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-17B |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
Who designed Kepler?
NASA’s Kepler, the 10th in a series of low-cost, low-development-time and highly focused Discovery-class science missions, was designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars in our region of the Milky Way. The spacecraft was named after the famed German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630).
Is the Kepler space telescope still working?
The agency announced on Oct. 30, 2018, that Kepler has run out of fuel and is being retired within its current and safe orbit, away from Earth. Kepler leaves a legacy of more than 2,600 exoplanet discoveries.
Where is Kepler now?
It’s currently in a safe orbit far from Earth. This week or next, the engineers will send a command to the spacecraft that will turn off its transmitter and other instruments, leaving it silent and drifting in its orbit. Kepler launched in 2009 on a mission to find planets outside our Solar System called exoplanets.
Will Kepler come back to Earth?
But in 2117, Kepler will pop back onto its old path after another encounter with Earth. And the cycle will continue. So a rescue or refueling mission would be nearly impossible, NASA officials have said.
Are Kepler and K2 the same?
In May 2013, loss of a second reaction wheel should have ended the mission, but Kepler was rebooted, renamed K2, and given a new goal: to use the telescope’s high-photometric precision to observe stars and Solar System objects located along the ecliptic.
Will Kepler return to Earth?
In 2060, Kepler will return to the vicinity of Earth — but well outside the orbit of the moon — and the planet’s gravity will tug the telescope into an orbit a bit closer to the sun, and one that moves faster than Earth.