Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope that was developed as part of NASA’s Explorers Programme to hunt for exoplanets. It was launched in 2018 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. It is currently revolving around an elliptical 13.7-day orbit around the Earth. As of April 5 this year, the telescope has detected 2,601 candidate exoplanets, of which 122 are confirmed.
TESS recently discovered a circumbinary planet named TIC 172900988b. Circumbinary planets are those that orbit two stars instead of one. The newly discovered planet is the largest of all known circumbinary planets.
Originally written on
May 31, 2021
and last modified on
February 20, 2022.