NASA’s prolific planet-hunter Kepler has finally earned its retirement

After nine years of service, half a million stars surveyed, and thousands of planets discovered around those stars, NASA's astonishingly successful Kepler space telescope is finally taking a well-earned rest. Out of fuel but in a safe orbit, the spacecraft will drift through the solar system looking at nothing in particular as its immense trove of data continues to drive discoveries here on Earth. https://ift.tt/2P1fS7U Devin Coldewey October 30, 2018 at 06:01PM