UNDERSTANDING OTHER WORLDS
What was the Kepler mission?
Kepler monitored stars for planetary transits and transformed our understanding of how common planets are.
Watching one field
The original mission measured the brightness of many stars repeatedly, finding transit signals across a wide range of sizes and periods.
The K2 mission
After a change in spacecraft operations, K2 observed fields along the ecliptic. Both missions generated candidates and confirmed discoveries.
A statistical revolution
The missions helped researchers study populations rather than only isolated worlds. Selection effects still matter: the ease of detecting a planet depends on its size, orbit, star and observing duration.