NASA Unveils Final Image From Retired Kepler Space Telescope
NASA shares the "last light" snapshot from the Kepler space telescope, which captures the Aquarius constellation shortly before the craft retires. The image serves as a fitting end to a mission that discovers thousands of exoplanets and proves the Milky Way contains more planets than stars.
NASA releases the final "last light" image taken by the Kepler space telescope before its retirement late last year. Captured on September 25, this final snapshot points toward the Aquarius constellation and features notable celestial sights like the TRAPPIST-1 system with its seven rocky planets and the GJ 9827 system with a super Earth exoplanet. The image perfectly bookends the mission, echoing the excitement of Kepler's "first light" image from nine and a half years earlier.
The enduring legacy of Kepler is extraordinary because the spacecraft far outlives its original 3.5-year planned mission. Over its nine years of operation, Kepler discovers more than 2,600 confirmed worlds beyond our solar system and statistically proves that our galaxy holds more planets than stars. Furthermore, its findings suggest that 20 to 50 percent of stars in the sky host small, potentially rocky planets in the habitable zone where liquid water could exist.
Although Kepler is now drifting silently through space with its transmitters turned off, its scientific value continues. The telescope's field of view slightly overlaps with its successor, TESS, allowing astronomers to compare data from both planet-hunting missions. Even though Kepler no longer collects new information, NASA officials emphasize that the spacecraft's massive archive of data will be mined for new discoveries for many years to come.