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A Delta rocket carrying the Kepler
telescope takes off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida
March 6, 2009. NASA launched the pioneering Kepler telescope on Friday to
survey a corner of the galaxy in hopes of learning if other planets like
Earth exist.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Backgrounder |
| Introduction to Kepler
instrument |
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Kepler's mission
overview, scientific objectives
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LOS ANGELES, Mar. 7 (Xinhua) -- Kepler, a telescope
that will scour the Milky Way for evidence of Earth-like planets, is orbiting
the sun on Saturday, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Aboard a three-stage Delta 2 rocket, the Kepler
telescope blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida about 7:50 p.m. Friday and
successfully reached its orbit about an hour later.
When fully operational in a
couple of months, the craft will embark on a 3 1/2-year mission, during which it
will scan more than 100,000 stars, looking for winks in the light emanating from
them -- a telltale sign of a planet passing in front of the light source. said
JPL which monitors the mission.
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A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket
is prepared for the launch of the Kepler Telescope for NASA Kepler, from
Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, March 6,
2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
Astronomers will monitor stars ranging from the
smaller, cooler ones -- whose planets orbit closer to them -- to the larger and
hotter stars, whose planets must orbit farther away to survive, according to
JPL, based in Pasadena of Los Angeles.
By analyzing the spectrum, scientists can get a rough
idea of the size and planet and its composition, JPL said, adding that the goal
is to find planets in "habitable zones," regions where pools of surface water
are possible.
Finding extrasolar planets is a daunting task because
light from the stars they orbit swamps the reflected light of the satellites,
according to the JPL.
Most of the 340 planets
discovered beyond our solar system are gas giants similar to Jupiter and too hot
for human life. By December 2010, scientists should start seeing some results
worthy of further investigation.
NASA launches world's first Earth-like
planet-hunting spacecraft
WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- NASA's Kepler
space telescope, the world's first mission to hunt for extra solar Earth-like
planets, was launched aboard a Delta II rocket Friday night from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station in Florida.
After the clock ticked down to liftoff, the Delta II's
first-stage main engine and six strap-on solid rocket boosters ignited, the NASA
TV shows. Full story
