NASA's Kepler Telescope Has Found 100 New Exoplanets

The artist's illustration shows NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft operating in its second-chance K2 mission. Credit: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/T Pyle

Space.com: NASA's Kepler Comes Roaring Back with 100 New Exoplanet Finds

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — NASA's Kepler spacecraft has bounced back nicely from the malfunction that ended its original exoplanet hunt more than two years ago.

Kepler has now discovered more than 100 confirmed alien planets during its second-chance K2 mission, researchers announced today (Jan. 5) here at the 227th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS).

The $600 million Kepler mission launched in March 2009, tasked with determining how commonly Earth-like planets occur throughout the Milky Way galaxy. Kepler has been incredibly successful, finding more than 1,000 alien worlds to date, more than half of all exoplanets ever discovered.

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CSN Editor: Kudos to this team. The Kepler project is not done yet.