Feature Astronomy

Year in Review: Death of a planet hunter

Kepler ends successful mission

THE END  The Kepler space telescope closed out a brilliant career this year.

NASA/Kepler mission; Starry background: Imageman/Shutterstock

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

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When NASA’s Kepler space telescope launched in March 2009, astronomers had no proof that any star other than the sun harbored an Earth-sized planet (with a diameter within 25 percent of Earth’s).