Talk about a big year. 2011 turned out to be a banner year for NASA's Kepler mission, with the promise of even more exciting results to come in 2012. PlanetQuest reviews some of Kepler's 2011 highlights.
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SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE
Two extremely bright stars illuminate a greenish mist in this and other images from the new "GLIMPSE360" survey from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
Galaxy Evolution Explorer
Uses ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation 80 percent of the way back to the Big Bang.
› Mission home page
Keck Interferometer
Links two 10-meter (33-foot) telescopes, which form the world's most powerful optical telescope system.
› Telescope home page
Kepler Mission
The Kepler Mission will search for Earth-like planets with the "transit" method.
› Kepler home page
Palomar Observatory
A joint effort between JPL and the California Institute of Technology, the Palomar Observatory houses a collection of famous telescopes.
› Palomar home page
Spitzer Space Telescope
Uses infrared technology to study celestial objects that are too cool, too dust-enshrouded or too far away to otherwise be seen.
› Mission home page
Voyager to the Outer Planets
Voyager 1 and 2 flew past Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also flew by Uranus and Neptune. Voyager 1 is now approaching interstellar space.
› Mission home page
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
WISE is mapping the entire sky in infrared light, uncovering the coolest stars, the universe's most luminous galaxies and some of the darkest near-Earth asteroids and comets.
› Mission home page
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Galaxy's Ring of Fire
This ring of fire "burns, burns, burns" with young stars.
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Sifting Through the Atmospheres of Far-off Worlds
Researchers have begun taking infrared pictures of planets posing near their stars in family portraits.
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Milky Way Black Hole Snacks on Hot Gas
The supermassive black hole at the core of our Milky Way galaxy is gobbling up hot gas, according to a new study from the Herschel space observatory.
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Dead Star Warps Light of Red Star This artist's animation depicts an ultra-dense dead star, called a white dwarf, passing in front of a small red star. |
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A Journey of Light through Space and Time Animation depicting the 'life' of a photon as it travels across space and time, from the very early universe to the Planck satellite. |
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Planck Exposes Ancient Light of Our Universe Animation illustrating scientists work to extract the oldest light in our universe from maps of the whole sky taken by the Planck mission. |
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