NASA's Planet-Hunting Telescope Has Moved On To Its Extended Mission, And The Fun Is About To Start

NASA ’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite ( TESS ) has resolve its two - year - foresighted basal commission and has now moved on to   its extended missionary post . Over the last 24 months , the telescope has imaged 75 pct of the sky , come across 66 new exoplanets as well as 2,100 candidates . More will be find and confirmed during its extend mission .

“ TESS is producing a deluge of gamy - character observance providing worthful data across a wide-cut range of scientific discipline topics , ” Patricia Boyd , a task scientist for TESS at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center , suppose in astatement . “ As it enters its extended commission , TESS is already a roaring winner . ”

TESS spent itsfirst two yearsstudying the Southern sky and then the Northern . It has now moved back to   the Southern Sky for the next year . The final form of the mission , lasting 15 months , will return   to the northerly sky as well as observe   the ecliptic – the plane of Earth ’s area around the Sun . This prolonged missionary station is expected to be nail in September 2022 .

The lengthy missionary station will also   see improvements in how the datum is collect , with   observations of M of stars potential in only a matter of seconds . TESS now captures an image of the part of the sky it is abide by every 10   mo . In just 20 seconds , it enter the brightness of K of stars , on top of the current method acting of measure tens of thousands of stars in a couplet of minutes .

The brightness is the approachthe scope use   to discover new planets . It is know as the transit method acting . If a major planet go in front of the star , TESS registers a dip in smartness . If multiple dips recur in a unconstipated rule , a planet is   confirmed .

TESS has discovered a spacious range of human beings already , including a nearbyEarth - sized worldin the so - called habitable zone , where liquid water might live . Its prompt reflexes in celebrate the Nox sky has also been used to detecta star being shredded by a black mess .

The improvement will push the gasbag on all these kind of observation and proceed to put up new brainstorm into   the zoo of champion and major planet in the Milky Way .