NASA’s Kepler space telescope has spotted 219 new potential planets. (Source: NASA) NASA’s Kepler space telescope has spotted 219 new potential planets. (Source: NASA)NASA’s Kepler space telescope has spotted 219 new potential planets, of which at least 10 are near-Earth size with conditions suitable to host life. The Kepler space telescope hunts for planets by detecting the minuscule drop in a star’s brightness that occurs when a planet crosses in front of it, called a transit. Using the W M Keck Observatory in Hawaii, the group measured the sizes of 1,300 stars in the Kepler field of view to determine the radii of 2,000 Kepler planets with exquisite precision.

Source: Indian Express June 20, 2017 13:29 UTC