Artist's concept of the Kepler Space Telescope against a background of planets and stars. Kepler discovered over 1,000 of the 4,000+ known exoplanets. Now, based on Kepler data, scientists estimate that 1 in 4 sunlike stars has at least 1 planet about the same size as Earth. Image via NASA/Ames Research Center/W. Stenzel/D. Rutter/Penn State News.
According to a new study by astronomers, based on data from the Kepler Space Telescope, 1 in 4 sunlike stars should have a planet that's approximately Earth-sized, orbiting in the star's habitable zone. Read more.
On August 14, gravitational wave detectors sensed ripples in space-time. Data analysis suggests they came from a black hole engulfing a neutron star, 900 million light-years from Earth. Read more.
New moon was yesterday. The thin crescent in the west in the next few evenings is called a young moon by astronomers. Many people around the world are likely to catch the whisker-thin waxing crescent this evening. Just be sure to look as soon as the sky begins to darken. Tonight's young moon will quickly follow the sun below the western horizon. Read more.
You've heard of planetary nebulae? They have nothing to do with planets. They're shells of gas, sloughed off by dying stars. This image - taken with the Hubble Space Telescope - shows a 2-lobed planetary nebula known as NGC 2371/2. The lobes are the cloudy regions in the lower left and upper right, released by the bright star at the center of the frame. The star, now dying, will eventually cool and dim to become a white dwarf. Read more.
