Super-Earths may be our best bet for finding life beyond our solar system.
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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.
Galaxy Evolution Explorer
Uses ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation 80 percent of the way back to the Big Bang.
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Keck Interferometer
Links two 10-meter (33-foot) telescopes, which form the world's most powerful optical telescope system.
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Kepler Mission
The Kepler Mission will search for Earth-like planets with the "transit" method.
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Palomar Observatory
A joint effort between JPL and the California Institute of Technology, the Palomar Observatory houses a collection of famous telescopes.
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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.
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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.
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Herschel Opens Its Infrared Eyes
The Herschel Space Observatory has snapped its first picture since blasting into space on May 14, 2009.
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Herschel's Cover Flips Open
The Herschel observatory has flipped its lid -- the cover protecting the telescope's instruments was successfully removed on June 14, 2009.
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On the JPL Blog: Five 'Holy Grails' of Distant Solar Systems
Fridays@5, a new series bringing you five cool ideas from a scientist or engineer, debuts today. First up, JPL and Caltech 's Angelle Tanner lists goals in extrasolar planet research.
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Silicate Crystal Formation in the Disk of an Erupting Star
This artist's animation illustrates how silicate crystals like those found in comets can be created by an outburst from a growing star. |
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NASA's Kepler mission is starting its hunt for other "Earths" in our galaxy.
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The Camera That Saved Hubble
Two of the unsung heros of NASA's Hubble mission are a camera and the team from JPL that put it all together. |
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