Kepler mission

Exoplanets: Why study them? What are the challenges? What can they teach us about finding life beyond Earth?

Universe Today has explored the importance of studying impact craters and planetary surfaces and what these scientific disciplines can teach…

2 months ago

The Kepler Mission’s Final Three Planets?

NASA's Kepler spacecraft ended its observations in October 2018 after nine and a half years, a solid six years beyond…

10 months ago

A Third of Planets Orbiting Red Dwarf Stars Could be in the Habitable Zone

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a pair of researchers from the University…

10 months ago

TESS has Found A Second Earth-Sized World in This System. Exoplanet Science is Maturing

For planet-hunters, finding an Earth-sized exoplanet must be special. NASA estimates there are about 100 billion planets in the Milky…

1 year ago

Do Exoplanet Scientists Have Favorite Exoplanets?

Exoplanets have become quite the sensation over the last decade-plus, with scientists confirming new exoplanets on a regular basis thanks…

1 year ago

Planets are Finally Being Discovered Orbiting Farther From Their Stars

We don't know much about exoplanets with long orbital periods, but we're starting to learn.

3 years ago

Astronomers Have Found the Star/Exoplanet Combo That’s the Best Twin to the Sun/Earth

At times, it seems like there's an indundation of announcements featuring discoveries of "Earth-like" planets. And while those announcements are…

4 years ago

18 – Yes, 18 – New Earth-sized Exoplanets have been Found in Kepler’s Data

Scientists working with data from the Kepler mission have discovered an additional 18 Earth-sized worlds. The team used a newer,…

5 years ago

Two Newly-Discovered Exoplanets are Probably the Result of a Catastrophic Collision

How can two planets so similar in some respects have such different densities? According to a new study, a catastrophic…

5 years ago

Tabby’s Star is Dipping Again!

According to updates by Tabetha Boyajian and her team, it appears that Tabby's Star recently experienced another major dip in…

6 years ago