The Kepler Mission

The Kepler Mission was a NASA project launched in 2009 to find planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets. It used a telescope to monitor the brightness of over 150,000 stars, looking for tiny dips in light caused when a planet passes in front of its star — an event called a transit. By detecting these transits repeatedly, Kepler identified thousands of potential exoplanets, helping scientists understand how common planets are in our galaxy. Its discoveries have expanded our knowledge of planetary systems and the potential for habitable worlds beyond Earth.