Stellary Starry Universe

 

In a night launch of stunning beauty, NASA’s Kepler spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Friday night, March 6th, on a mission to find Earth-like planets circling other stars.

March 6, 2009: NASA’s Kepler mission successfully launched into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II at 10:49 p.m. EST, Friday. Kepler is designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars at distances where water could pool on the planet’s surface. Liquid water is believed to be essential for the formation of life.

“It was a stunning launch,” said Kepler Project Manager James Fanson of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “Our team is thrilled to be a part of something so meaningful to the human race — Kepler will help us understand if our Earth is unique or if others like it are out there.” [...]

Source: Nasa Science – click here for full article

 

 

Pluto, the runt of the solar system, is still a mystery to astronomers in many ways. But thanks to a new study of the dwarf planet’s atmosphere, this misunderstood place is a little more known to us now.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope in Chile, researchers made the first ever quantitative measurement of the chemical composition of the atmosphere around Pluto. The study revealed that the dwarf planet’s air is warmer, and contains more methane, than previously thought.

Source: Space.com – click here for full article