Kepler-452b – Astronomy Now

No. 4 A planet like Earth?

2 January 2016 Keith Cooper

There was great media excitement in July when it was announced that the Kepler Space Telescope had discovered the most Earth-like planet yet, but appearances can be deceiving.

Exoplanet anniversary: from zero to thousands in 20 years

7 October 2015 Astronomy Now

On 6 October 1995, astronomers started a revolution with the discovery of 51 Pegasi b — the first planet found orbiting a Sun-like star beyond our solar system. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of that momentous discovery, the current total of known exoplanets stands at 5,596. More than 1,000 of these were discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission.

New Kepler planet could be Earth’s closest cousin yet

23 July 2015 Keith Cooper

A super-earth discovered by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and orbiting an older version of our Sun, is tantalising astronomers as potentially being the closest thing to a world like Earth.