Kepler Is Back

The Kepler Telescope has been our primary exoplanet hunting tool since its launch in 2009, but last May, it developed a problem.  The satellite has four stabilizing reaction wheels, and while it can operate with only three of them, it cannot operate with only two, and that is precisely what happened.  However, NASA has approved a new mission for Kepler that would not require three reaction wheels.  This new mission, called K2, involves using pressure from solar radiation to help stabilize the craft.  The new target area is much bigger than before and is located along the same plane as the Earth.

It's too bad that Kepler won't be able to complete its survey of the original search area, it's going to take many years for scientists to sift through the data, point their telescopes at potential planets, and actually confirm that what Kepler saw were actually planets.  But, so long as Kepler remains in its current state, we can now look at a completely new section of the sky, and find even more planets. 

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