Kepler Passes Planet-Finding Torch to TESS Animation
Animation of Kepler passing the planet-finding torch to TESS. 10 second version.
After nine years in space, NASA's Kepler has reached its end. The Kepler and K2 missions have discovered over 2,600 confirmed exoplanets so far, including some in the habitable zones of their stars. Kepler used transits--regular dips in a star's brightness caused by orbiting planets--to find new worlds. It's the same method used by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. In a way, Kepler has passed the planet-finding torch on to TESS, which will scan nearly the entire sky to continue the hunt for exoplanets.
Animation of Kepler passing the planet-finding torch to TESS. 10 second version without the NASA logo.
Animation of Kepler passing the planet-finding torch to TESS. GIF version.
Animation of Kepler passing the planet-finding torch to TESS. GIF version with planets.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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Animator
- Bailee DesRocher (USRA)
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Artistic director
- Michael Lentz (USRA)
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Producer
- Claire Saravia (NASA/GSFC)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, October 30, 2018.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:46 PM EDT.