Steady on Kepler...

摘要

THERE'S life in the old girl yet. Although NASA's Kepler space telescope is unlikely to return to planet-hunting, the blurry-eyed superstar may have a role in characterising known planets. Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has revolutionised our view of alien planets and was busy honing the search for an Earth twin - until May, when a second reaction wheel stopped working. It needs three out of four for a gaze steady enough to detect planets.