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Science@Ames
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 Space Science @ Ames features research in infrared astrophysics, laboratory astrophysics, extrasolar planets, planetary sciences, exobiology, and astrobiology.
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 Earth Science @ Ames features basic and applied research in atmospheric and biospheric sciences, and conducts airborne science campaigns.
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 BioSciences @ Ames features research in radiation and lunar dust, and provides engineering capabilities in support of NASA's manned spaceflight.
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Features |
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KEPLER DISCOVERS EARTH-SIZE PLANETS | December 20, 2011 |
The Kepler telescope has now added a pair of Earth-size planets to its census of the Kepler 20 system. Designated Kepler 20-e and -f, the newly found planets are slightly smaller than Venus and a bit larger than Earth, respectively. However, both planets reside close to their host star, with orbital periods of 6.1 days and 19.6 days. Hence, each of the new planets are very hot and inhospitable worlds. Combined with the announcement earlier in December of a 2.4 Earth-mass planet in the habitable zone of its star, Kepler is rapidly closing in on answering the fundamental and profound question underlying the mission: What is the frequency of Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars? Additional Kepler results will be presented at the January 9-12 semi-annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas. |
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KEPLER DISCOVERS ITS FIRST EARTH-LIKE PLANET | Dec 5, 2011 |
On the opening day of the First Annual Kepler Science Conference, being hosted at Ames Research Center, the project team announced the discovery of its first planet in the habitable zone (HZ) of a Sun-like star. Designated as Kepler-22b, the planet is 2.4 times the radius of Earth and has an orbital period 290 days. Given this period and the spectral class of the parent star, the team is confident that the newly discovered planet resides within the HZ, the annular ring where liquid water could exist. The Kepler team also announced the identification of 1094 new planetary candidates, nearly doubling the number of Kepler candidates to 2326. The vast majority of the new candidates are Neptune-size or smaller. Forty-eight of these planetary candidates are believed to be orbiting within the HZ of their host star. For additional details on the new Kepler findings, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2011/11-99AR.html |
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SOFIA VIEWS STAR FORMING REGION W40 | Nov 21, 2011 |
(NASA / DLR / USRA / DSI / Shuping & Vacca / FORCAST team)A new image from NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, provides the highest resolution mid-infrared image taken to-date of the massive star formation region in our galaxy known as W40. The W40 image was taken by the Faint Object infraRed Camera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) instrument mounted in the airborne observatory - a highly modified 747SP airliner carrying a reflecting telescope with an effective diameter of 100 inches (2.5 meters). The image of W40 is a composite of data captured by the FORCAST camera at infrared wavelengths of 5.4, 24.2, and 34.8 microns, all of which are partially or completely blocked by water vapor in Earth's atmosphere and inaccessible to observatories even on high mountain tops. + Learn More |
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Ames Science Missions
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 Kepler is a Discovery-class mission featuring a visible-light telescope designed to detect transiting planets around stars. It is expected to detect hundreds of Earth-size planets in or near the habitable zone and will determine the fraction of stars with such terrestrial planets. |
 SOFIA is an airborne observatory featuring a 2.5 m infrared telescope fitted aboard a 747 airplane. Flying state-of-the-art instrumentation at altitudes above 40,000 feet, the observatory will study astronomical phenomena in our Solar system, Galaxy and the nearby Universe.
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 LCROSS is a co-manifested spacecraft with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and will intentionally impact a lunar polar crater. The resulting plume will be observed by orbiting and ground-based telescopes to ascertain whether water exists in a permanently shadowed region of the Moon.
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