NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

PLANET QUEST Exoplanet Exploration

Earth on Steroids?

Super-Earths may be our best bet for finding life beyond our solar system.

SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE

Infrared Echoes Give NASA's Spitzer a Supernova Flashback

Eli Dwek of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and Richard Arendt of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, say these echoes are powered by radiation from Cassiopeia A supernova shock wave that blew the star apart some 11,000 years ago.

Astrophysics Missions

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

News & Features

Spitzer Telescope Observes Baby Brown Dwarf

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has contributed to the discovery of the youngest brown dwarf ever observed -- a finding that, if confirmed, may solve an astronomical mystery about how these cosmic misfits are formed.