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Posted Nov 2, 2018
"The search for exoplanets using Kepler data is still underway. Many are still hiding in the data, ready to be discovered, "said Susan Mullally, scientist working for the Kepler mission at STScI.
Kepler's main mission data for the four years, as well as the four years of the K2 mission, can be downloaded for free here at the following address: MAST. In addition to the mission data, the archives host community-provided data products that provide improved analysis of the data needed for some of the astrophysical studies or better measurements of the stars observed by Kepler. All data is accessible via the MAST data portal, as well as via its exoplanet-centric interface.
The Kepler probe was launched in 2009 with the goal of finding exoplanets in orbit around distant stars. In the years that followed, astronomers used Kepler's observations to discover 2,818 exoplanets, as well as 2,679 exoplanet candidates requiring additional confirmation. On October 30, 2018, NASA announced that Kepler was running out of fuel and would be decommissioned. Although spacecraft operations have ceased, its data will continue to be accessible to the public through the Mikulski Space Telescope Archive (MAST) of the Space Telescopes Research Institute. These data will allow new scientific discoveries for the years to come.
NASA's Kepler spacecraft has completed its main planetary search and K2 tracking missions and will be decommissioned. However, all of Kepler's data has been and will continue to be publicly available at STScI (Space Telescope Institute) via the Mikulski Space Telescope Archive (MAST), where it will continue to improve our understanding of the universe.
The Kepler probe was launched in 2009 with the aim of seeking a slight decrease in the luminosity of the stars caused by the passage of exoplanets in orbit crossing in front of them. Using this transit technique, astronomers used Kepler's observations to discover 2,818 exoplanets, as well as 2,679 exoplanet candidates requiring additional confirmation. Kepler focused on the stars near the constellation Swan and revealed, among other discoveries, that small planets are common in our galaxy.
After its four-year core mission, the probe was reconverted to observe the stars near the zodiacal constellations. The second phase of Kepler's scientific program was called the K2 mission. During K2, the Kepler spacecraft continued to collect the data necessary for exoplanet hunting and allowed researchers to investigate other astrophysical issues. The Kepler probe has observed supernovae, star clusters such as the Pleiades, and many objects from our own solar system, including Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto.
The data collection phase for Kepler is complete, but the STScI Mikulski Space Telescope Archive will continue to broadcast all Kepler Observatory data in perpetuity. The MAST archive team recently won a NASA group award for hosting Kepler datasets.
These data will allow new scientific discoveries for the coming years as scientists fully examine them and supplement them with additional observations.
"The search for exoplanets using Kepler data is still underway. Many are still hiding in the data, ready to be discovered, "said Susan Mullally, scientist working for the Kepler mission at STScI.
In the future, MAST is consolidating data from the next observatory of NASA's large exoplanet, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS has just begun its study of almost the entire night sky, looking for exoplanets in orbit among the brightest and closest stars. As an astronomical passage of the witness, during the last month of Kepler's mission, TESS and Kepler simultaneously observed more than a hundred identical stars.
The Daily Galaxy via the ESA / Hubble Information Center
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