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After finding thousands of planets, NASA's Kepler mission ends

By Ashley Strickland, CNN

Updated 4:45 PM ET, Tue October 30, 2018

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Artists such as Tim Pyle and Robert Hurt create renderings of exoplanets and other things in the universe we may never be able to otherwise see. Both are science fiction fans. Sometimes, the reality of the data they're working with aligns with scenes from the "Star Wars" films, such as Pyle's rendering of the Kepler-16 binary star system that creates a double sunset like the one on Luke Skywalker's home world, Tatooine. <br /><br />Click through to see more of their work.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Artists such as Tim Pyle and Robert Hurt create renderings of exoplanets and other things in the universe we may never be able to otherwise see. Both are science fiction fans. Sometimes, the reality of the data they're working with aligns with scenes from the "Star Wars" films, such as Pyle's rendering of the Kepler-16 binary star system that creates a double sunset like the one on Luke Skywalker's home world, Tatooine.

Click through to see more of their work.
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"To me, planets around binary star systems will always be 'Tatooine' planets," Pyle said. This illustration was created to accompany a release revealing that mature planetary systems are more frequent around binary stars than single stars like our sun.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
"To me, planets around binary star systems will always be 'Tatooine' planets," Pyle said. This illustration was created to accompany a release revealing that mature planetary systems are more frequent around binary stars than single stars like our sun.
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Kamino is an ocean world in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones." Kepler-22b is an exoplanet that could similarly be covered in a super ocean.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Kamino is an ocean world in "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones." Kepler-22b is an exoplanet that could similarly be covered in a super ocean.
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Kepler-452b is an Earth-size planet that orbits a star similar to our sun. It's been compared with the planet Coruscant in the "Star Wars" films and has been called "Earth's older, bigger cousin."
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Kepler-452b is an Earth-size planet that orbits a star similar to our sun. It's been compared with the planet Coruscant in the "Star Wars" films and has been called "Earth's older, bigger cousin."
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Hurt was inspired by the volcanic world Mustafar from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" to create this illustration of the hot, rocky exoplanet called 55 Cancri e. It is his favorite illustration from the past year, a "lava-covered world with sheets of gas pouring off of it."
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Hurt was inspired by the volcanic world Mustafar from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" to create this illustration of the hot, rocky exoplanet called 55 Cancri e. It is his favorite illustration from the past year, a "lava-covered world with sheets of gas pouring off of it."
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Believe it or not, this is not a depiction of Alderaan being obliterated by the Death Star in "Star Wars: A New Hope." This is Pyle's concept of a young star surrounded by a debris disk or gas and dust, the birthplace of new planets.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Believe it or not, this is not a depiction of Alderaan being obliterated by the Death Star in "Star Wars: A New Hope." This is Pyle's concept of a young star surrounded by a debris disk or gas and dust, the birthplace of new planets.
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When working on the concept for Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone that could support liquid water on its surface, Pyle was careful to make it look less inviting than our own Earth, in case it was misconstrued as a friendly, habitable place. They made sure it was more muddy brown rather than green and blue.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
When working on the concept for Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone that could support liquid water on its surface, Pyle was careful to make it look less inviting than our own Earth, in case it was misconstrued as a friendly, habitable place. They made sure it was more muddy brown rather than green and blue.
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"Probably the most famous graphic I've done is a top-down view of what the Milky Way would look like if we could go outside our galaxy and look at it," Hurt said. "The irony is, we live inside it, you think we would know it better than anything, but it turns out that's not so true. It's like being dropped down in Times Square and being asked to draw a map of all of Manhattan."
Photos: Up close with alien planets
"Probably the most famous graphic I've done is a top-down view of what the Milky Way would look like if we could go outside our galaxy and look at it," Hurt said. "The irony is, we live inside it, you think we would know it better than anything, but it turns out that's not so true. It's like being dropped down in Times Square and being asked to draw a map of all of Manhattan."
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Pyle enjoyed working on this concept because he hadn't seen any examples of it before. It's an example of a brown dwarf with a strong weather system. Instead of liquid rain, the storms most likely consist of molten iron, sand or salts.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Pyle enjoyed working on this concept because he hadn't seen any examples of it before. It's an example of a brown dwarf with a strong weather system. Instead of liquid rain, the storms most likely consist of molten iron, sand or salts.
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Hurt's depiction of a supermassive black hole is another iconic image that has come to be closely associated with the term. It also depicts an outflowing jet of energetic particles, believed to be powered by the black hole's spin.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Hurt's depiction of a supermassive black hole is another iconic image that has come to be closely associated with the term. It also depicts an outflowing jet of energetic particles, believed to be powered by the black hole's spin.
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A fan of the show "Babylon 5," Pyle enjoyed working on this depiction of the Epsilon Eridani star system, where the space station is located on the show. It is also the closest known planetary system to our own.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
A fan of the show "Babylon 5," Pyle enjoyed working on this depiction of the Epsilon Eridani star system, where the space station is located on the show. It is also the closest known planetary system to our own.
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"A star that's cool enough to have stormy planet-like clouds forming in its atmosphere," Pyle said. "I worked with an exoplanet theorist who helped refine the look of the cloud structure."
Photos: Up close with alien planets
"A star that's cool enough to have stormy planet-like clouds forming in its atmosphere," Pyle said. "I worked with an exoplanet theorist who helped refine the look of the cloud structure."
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Hurt offers another look at a young star surrounded by a dusty protoplanetary disk that contains the raw material to form planets as the star system matures.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
Hurt offers another look at a young star surrounded by a dusty protoplanetary disk that contains the raw material to form planets as the star system matures.
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What would a storm of comets around a star look like? Hurt's illustration of <a href="http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/4772-ssc2011-08a-It-s-Raining-Comets" target="_blank">Eta Corvi</a> shows how comets are torn to shreds after colliding with a rocky body.
Photos: Up close with alien planets
What would a storm of comets around a star look like? Hurt's illustration of Eta Corvi shows how comets are torn to shreds after colliding with a rocky body.
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(CNN)NASA's Kepler Space Telescope has run out of fuel, and its mission has come to an end 94 million miles from Earth, the agency announced Tuesday. The deep space mission's end is not unexpected, as low fuel levels had been noted in July.

The nine-year planet-hunting mission discovered 2,899 exoplanet candidates and 2,681 confirmed exoplanets in our galaxy, revealing that our solar system isn't the only home for planets.
Kepler allowed astronomers to discover that 20% to 50% of the stars we can see in the night sky are likely to have small, rocky, Earth-size planets within their habitable zones -- which means that liquid water could pool on the surface, and life as we know it could exist on these planets.
The final commands have been sent, and the spacecraft will remain a safe distance from Earth to avoid colliding with our planet.
    Meet TESS, the satellite that will find thousands of planets
    Meet TESS, the satellite that will find thousands of planets
    "As NASA's first planet-hunting mission, Kepler has wildly exceeded all our expectations and paved the way for our exploration and search for life in the solar system and beyond," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Not only did it show us how many planets could be out there, it sparked an entirely new and robust field of research that has taken the science community by storm. Its discoveries have shed a new light on our place in the universe and illuminated the tantalizing mysteries and possibilities among the stars."
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    The Kepler mission was named in honor of 17th century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion.
    Kepler, the telescope, reached more than twice its initial target, accomplishing original mission goals and seizing unexpected opportunities to answer questions about our galaxy and the universe, according to Charlie Sobeck, project system engineer at NASA's Ames Research Center.
    An artist's illustration of HD 21749c, the first Earth-size planet found by TESS, as well as its sibling, HD 21749b, a warm mini-Neptune.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    An artist's illustration of HD 21749c, the first Earth-size planet found by TESS, as well as its sibling, HD 21749b, a warm mini-Neptune.
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    A "hot Saturn" passes in front of its host star in this illustration. Astronomers who study stars used "starquakes" to characterize the star, which provided critical information about the planet.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    A "hot Saturn" passes in front of its host star in this illustration. Astronomers who study stars used "starquakes" to characterize the star, which provided critical information about the planet.
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    Artist's concept of TESS against background of stars & orbiting planets in the Milky Way. Credit: ESA, M. Kornmesser (ESO), Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems Inc.), Britt Griswold (Maslow Media Group), NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center & Cornell University
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    Artist's concept of TESS against background of stars & orbiting planets in the Milky Way. Credit: ESA, M. Kornmesser (ESO), Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems Inc.), Britt Griswold (Maslow Media Group), NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center & Cornell University
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    A super-telescope made the first direct observation of an exoplanet using optical interferometry. This method revealed a complex exoplanetary atmosphere with clouds of iron and silicates swirling in a planet-wide storm. The technique presents unique possibilities for characterizing many of the exoplanets known today.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    A super-telescope made the first direct observation of an exoplanet using optical interferometry. This method revealed a complex exoplanetary atmosphere with clouds of iron and silicates swirling in a planet-wide storm. The technique presents unique possibilities for characterizing many of the exoplanets known today.
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    This image shows an artist's impression of the surface of Barnard's star b, a cold Super-Earth discovered orbiting Barnard's star 6 light-years away.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    This image shows an artist's impression of the surface of Barnard's star b, a cold Super-Earth discovered orbiting Barnard's star 6 light-years away.
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    This artist's illustration shows newly discovered exoplanet K2-288Bb, 226 light-years away and half the size of Neptune. It orbits the fainter member of a pair of cool M-type stars every 31.3 days.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    This artist's illustration shows newly discovered exoplanet K2-288Bb, 226 light-years away and half the size of Neptune. It orbits the fainter member of a pair of cool M-type stars every 31.3 days.
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    This is an artist's impression of the exoplanet HAT-P-11b. The planet has an extended helium atmosphere that's being blown away by the star, an orange dwarf star smaller but more active than our sun.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    This is an artist's impression of the exoplanet HAT-P-11b. The planet has an extended helium atmosphere that's being blown away by the star, an orange dwarf star smaller but more active than our sun.
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    An artist's illustration of what the super-Earth found around the orange-hued star HD 26965 (also known as 40 Eridani A) might look like. The recently discovered exoplanet is being compared to the fictional planet of Vulcan because Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry said the star was the ideal candidate to host Vulcan, Mr. Spock's home world.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    An artist's illustration of what the super-Earth found around the orange-hued star HD 26965 (also known as 40 Eridani A) might look like. The recently discovered exoplanet is being compared to the fictional planet of Vulcan because Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry said the star was the ideal candidate to host Vulcan, Mr. Spock's home world.
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    The TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, has seven Earth-size planets orbiting it.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    The TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, has seven Earth-size planets orbiting it.
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    For the first time, eight planets have been found orbiting another star, tying with our solar system for the most known planets around a single star. The Kepler-90 system is in the constellation Draco, more than 2,500 light-years from Earth.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    For the first time, eight planets have been found orbiting another star, tying with our solar system for the most known planets around a single star. The Kepler-90 system is in the constellation Draco, more than 2,500 light-years from Earth.
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    This artist's illustration shows exoplanet Ross 128 b, with its red dwarf host star in the background. The planet is only 11 light-years from our solar system. It is now the second-closest temperate planet to be detected, after Proxima b.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    This artist's illustration shows exoplanet Ross 128 b, with its red dwarf host star in the background. The planet is only 11 light-years from our solar system. It is now the second-closest temperate planet to be detected, after Proxima b.
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    WASP-121b, 880 light-years away, is considered a hot Jupiter-like planet. It has a greater mass and radius than Jupiter, making it "puffier." If WASP-121b were any closer to its host star, it would be ripped apart by the star's gravity.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    WASP-121b, 880 light-years away, is considered a hot Jupiter-like planet. It has a greater mass and radius than Jupiter, making it "puffier." If WASP-121b were any closer to its host star, it would be ripped apart by the star's gravity.
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    NASA's Kepler space telescope team has identified 219 more planet candidates, 10 of which are near-Earth size and in the habitable zone of their stars.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    NASA's Kepler space telescope team has identified 219 more planet candidates, 10 of which are near-Earth size and in the habitable zone of their stars.
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    Welcome to the KELT-9 system. The host star is a hot, rapidly rotating A-type star that is about 2.5 times more massive and almost twice as hot as our sun. The hot star blasts its nearby planet KELT-9b with massive amounts of radiation, leading to a daylight temperature of 7800 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter that most stars and only 2000 degrees cooler than the sun.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    Welcome to the KELT-9 system. The host star is a hot, rapidly rotating A-type star that is about 2.5 times more massive and almost twice as hot as our sun. The hot star blasts its nearby planet KELT-9b with massive amounts of radiation, leading to a daylight temperature of 7800 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter that most stars and only 2000 degrees cooler than the sun.
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    This artist's concept shows OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb, a planet orbiting an incredibly faint star 13,000 light-years away from us. It is an "iceball" planet with temperatures reaching minus-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    This artist's concept shows OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb, a planet orbiting an incredibly faint star 13,000 light-years away from us. It is an "iceball" planet with temperatures reaching minus-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
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    LHS 1140b is located in the liquid water habitable zone surrounding its host star, a small, faint red star named LHS 1140. The planet weighs about 6.6 times the mass of Earth and is shown passing in front of LHS 1140. Depicted in blue is the atmosphere the planet may have retained.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    LHS 1140b is located in the liquid water habitable zone surrounding its host star, a small, faint red star named LHS 1140. The planet weighs about 6.6 times the mass of Earth and is shown passing in front of LHS 1140. Depicted in blue is the atmosphere the planet may have retained.
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    An artist's concept image of the surface of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1f. Of the seven exoplanets discovered orbiting the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, this one may be the most suitable for life. It is similar in size to Earth, is a little cooler than Earth's temperature and is in the habitable zone of the star, meaning liquid water (and even oceans) could be on the surface. The proximity of the star gives the sky a salmon hue, and the other planets are so close that they appear in the sky, much like our own moon.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    An artist's concept image of the surface of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1f. Of the seven exoplanets discovered orbiting the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, this one may be the most suitable for life. It is similar in size to Earth, is a little cooler than Earth's temperature and is in the habitable zone of the star, meaning liquid water (and even oceans) could be on the surface. The proximity of the star gives the sky a salmon hue, and the other planets are so close that they appear in the sky, much like our own moon.
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    Artist's conception of the binary system with three giant planets discovered, where one star hosts two planets and the other hosts the third. The system represents the smallest-separation binary in which both stars host planets that has ever been observed.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    Artist's conception of the binary system with three giant planets discovered, where one star hosts two planets and the other hosts the third. The system represents the smallest-separation binary in which both stars host planets that has ever been observed.
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    This artist's impression shows the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system.
    Photos: Weird and wonderful planets beyond our solar system
    This artist's impression shows the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system.
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