Kepler's Hunt For Planets Outside Our Solar System: The Greatest Hits
Kepler-35 Lynette Cook via NASAThese findings have changed the way we see our solar system. This week NASA announced its planet-hunter, the Kepler Space Telescope, just completed its primary mission. It's far from retired--Kepler got a nice long extension back in April, so it will keep staring at distant stars for up to four more years--but it's still a milestone for NASA and the planet-hunting community. To celebrate its next step, we're taking a look at some of Kepler's greatest hits so far. Click to launch the photo gallery Since its launch in early 2009, the space telescope has found a treasure trove of new worlds orbiting distant stars, suggesting that planets are plentiful in our galaxy and maybe the universe. It has found so many planets, they're practically garden variety--really a shocking thing when you sit and think about it. But it should not be this way. Exoplanets are awesome! The space...