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Narrator: While a total solar eclipse is a rare

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opportunity to learn more about our sun,

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NASA's Kepler Mission has been studying

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distant stars for an eclipse-like event called

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a planetary transit.

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Using a space based telescope, scientists from

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Ames Research Center have been measuring

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the changes in the brightness of stars as

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their planets orbit or transit in front of them.

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Kepler has confirmed more than 2,500 exoplanets

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or planets beyond our solar system.

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Many of these are similar to Earth in size

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and distance from their sun.

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Studies using Kepler data have revealed a vast

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range of planet types and sizes and future

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discoveries could help enable

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the search for life in the galaxy.

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Another major effort at NASA Ames to use eclipses

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to study stars in deep space is called SOFIA

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or the Stratospheric Observatory

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for Infrared Astronomy.

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SOFIA is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that

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makes celestial observations in the infrared part

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of the electro-magnetic spectrum.

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Flying up to 45,000 feet, SOFIA operates above

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99 percent of the Earth's water vapor that absorbs

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most of the infrared light from space.

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One example of SOFIA's unique qualities as an

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airborne observatory occurred when researchers

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recorded infrared imagery of Pluto

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as it eclipsed a distant star.

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What we learn from missions like Kepler and SOFIA

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could help us to better understand the mysteries