Overview
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) launched on April 18, 2018, to search for planets orbiting nearby stars. #TESSExoplanetHunter marked the beginning of a mission to scan 85% of the sky, building on Kepler’s legacy to find thousands of new worlds.
Significance
TESS monitors the brightness of over 200,000 stars, detecting tiny dips in light caused by planets passing in front of their stars. The satellite has discovered 6,000+ exoplanet candidates and confirmed 400+ new worlds, including potentially habitable Earth-sized planets and bizarre systems like seven planets orbiting a single star.
Notable Discoveries
TESS found TOI 700 d, the first Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone discovered by the mission, and LTT 1445 Ab, one of the closest known exoplanets. The mission detected “hot Jupiters,” “super-Earths,” and exotic systems that challenge planetary formation theories.
Citizen Science
TESS data is publicly available, enabling amateur astronomers worldwide to participate in planet hunting. The Planet Hunters TESS project has engaged thousands of volunteers who’ve discovered planets that automated algorithms missed — democratizing exoplanet science.
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