Kepler Begins Search for Other 'Earths'

(NEWSER) - NASA will launch its Kepler space telescope tomorrow on a 3-year mission to look for planets as habitable to life as Earth, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Kepler will use a sophisticated digital camera, 10 times more sensitive than consumer models, to survey distant stars for orbiting planets with just the right credentials. “It’s quite an exciting time to be alive,” one scientist said. More»

Kepler discoveries are smallest exoplanets yet found

(NEWSER) - For the first time, scientists have discovered planets roughly the size of ours outside our solar system. Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f are the smallest exoplanets yet found, Discovery reports. Because they're so close to the star they orbit, they don't appear habitable, but the finding is "next major milestone to finding habitable planets beyond our solar system," says a NASA scientist. More»

Hello, is anyone out there?

(NEWSER) - Scientists have spotted five new planets orbiting stars in our galaxy that are close to the size of Earth and are located in a "habitable zone," according to researchers. They're the right distance from their stars that make the existence of life-essential liquid water possible. The planets are among a treasure trove of more than 1,000 new planets located by the space-traveling Kepler telescope. Another 49 planets beyond our galaxy—ranging from twice the size of earth to as large as Jupiter—are also located in habitable zones. The findings, as well as the promise that many more planets remain to be discovered, boost scientists' hope that life has gained another foothold somewhere else in the stars, notes CNN . More»

But Kepler-10b is too hot for human habitation

(NEWSER) - The Kepler space telescope has discovered a rocky planet that’s just 1.4 times the size of Earth orbiting a distant star—making it the smallest planet NASA has ever discovered outside of our solar system, and the only rocky one, NASA announced today. The bad news: The planet, dubbed Kepler-10b, appears far too hot to support any kind of life. More»

Spirit has been in a sand trap since April

(NEWSER) - Help is on the way, rover. NASA will attempt to free the Mars rover Spirit from its sand-trap prison on Monday. The plucky machine got stuck in April—“the equivalent of falling through the ice over a frozen pond," says a NASA official. Spirit has been exploring Mars for 6 years now, far longer than planned, but the dirt trap may be its final stop. More»