Tag

Tess

All articles tagged with #tess

science6 days ago•51 min saved

TESS uncovers Gaia23bra b via microlensing, a planet hidden in the data

NASA’s TESS has detected Gaia23bra b, a planet about 1.6 times Jupiter’s mass orbiting a distant orange-dwarf star roughly 40,000 light-years away, using gravitational microlensing—an effect predicted by Einstein’s general relativity. Hints of Gaia23bra b first appeared in Gaia data in 2023; microlensing provides a complementary route to exoplanet discovery alongside the transit method, and NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will use this technique to find about 1,000 microlensing planets in the Milky Way.

via Yahoo|

#exoplanets #gaia23bra-b #gravitational-microlensing

space7 days ago•104 min saved

Einstein-powered microlensing uncovers a distant exoplanet in TESS data

NASA's TESS has detected Gaia23bra b using gravitational microlensing—a method based on Einstein's general relativity—marking a rare microlensing planet found in TESS data. Hints first appeared in Gaia data in 2023; Gaia23bra b weighs about 1.6 Jupiter masses and orbits an orange-dwarf star roughly 40,000 light-years away, far beyond TESS's typical transit range. This discovery shows microlensing can reveal planets that transit methods miss and foreshadows Roman Space Telescope-led microlensing surveys, which could uncover many more such worlds.

via Space|

#exoplanets #gaia23bra-b #general-relativity

space16 days ago•2 min saved

Jupiter-Sized Super-Puffs Defy Density, Hint at New Planetary Formation

NASA’s TESS revealed two Jupiter-sized exoplanets orbiting TOI-791, about 1,110 light-years away in the Volans constellation, that are ‘super-puffs’ with densities far lower than cotton candy. They are the lightest known planets for their size, probably hydrogen–helium worlds whose composition will be clarified by Webb Space Telescope follow-up. Formed in gas-rich disks and later stripped down, these rare planets are among fewer than 40 super-puffs out of about 6,300 confirmed exoplanets.

via Los Angeles Times|

#exoplanets #planetary-density #space

science18 days ago•2 min saved

NASA's TESS Spots Two Ultra-Low-Density Exoplanets in One System

NASA's TESS has identified two Jupiter-size exoplanets in the same star system that are astonishingly low in density—about 3% and 5.9% of Jupiter's mass—earning them the label of the puffiest planets. Their large radii combined with low masses produce cotton-candy-like densities, and they exhibit unusually long orbits with mutual gravitational effects that alter transit timings, enabling mass estimates. The discovery, based on seven years of data (1,122 days of observations), offers a rare chance to study their atmospheres and how such ‘cotton candy’ worlds form.

via Engadget|

#exoplanets #nasa #science

science20 days ago•13 min saved

Puffy giants: two ultra-low-density exoplanets around a Sun-like star

NASA’s TESS discovered two giant exoplanets orbiting the Sun-like star TOI-791 that are extraordinarily low in density, making them some of the puffiest known gas giants and offering new insights into how such inflated planets form and evolve.

via AP News|

#exoplanets #gas-giant #low-density

space21 days ago•95 min saved

Brown Dwarf Skews Exoplanet System, Rewriting Planet-Formation Tales

Astronomers using TESS uncover an improbable exoplanet system around TOI-201: a massive brown dwarf TOI-201 c on a long, highly eccentric 2,881‑day orbit coexisting with a warm Jupiter (TOI-201 b) and a rocky super‑Earth (TOI-201 d). The brown dwarf’s gravity reshapes the inner disk, forcing planets to form at the hot inner edge and causing pronounced transit timing variations during close approaches. Mass confirmation marks TOI-201 c as a rare long‑period transiting brown dwarf, and the findings—published in Nature—challenge standard gas‑giant formation models.

via Space|

#brown-dwarf #exoplanets #space

space1 month ago•75 min saved

Edge-on Coplanar Triple-Star TIC 295741342 Illuminates How Such Triples Form

NASA’s TESS has identified TIC 295741342, a rare, edge-on triple-star system about 3,080 light-years away, where a sun-like binary with a 4.75-day orbit is eclipsed by a distant third star on a 412.8-day path. All three stars share nearly the same orbital plane, producing a distinctive “head-and-shoulders” light curve and offering clues to formation via disk fragmentation. While close planetary orbits are unlikely in such a setup, very wide orbits could exist. The outer star is aging into a red giant, potentially leading to future mass transfer and nova-like events. These findings come from TESS photometry combined with radial velocity measurements and are discussed in a preprint on arXiv.

via Space|

#coplanar #disk-fragmentation #eclipsing

space1 month ago•71 min saved

TESS Unveils Its Most Complete All-Sky Map of Exoplanets Yet

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) released its most complete all-sky mosaic, assembled from 96 sectors observed between 2018 and September 2025, mapping about 6,000 potential exoplanets (roughly 679 confirmed and 5,165 candidates). The mosaic highlights the diversity of worlds found, including a recently identified system with a super‑Earth and a tilted, eccentric companion and evidence of planet–planet collisions, marking the conclusion of TESS's second mission extension in Sept 2025.

via Space|

#all-sky #astronomy #exoplanets

science2 months ago•3 min saved

TESS Unveils the Most Complete All-Sky View of Exoplanets

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has released its most complete all-sky mosaic (96 sectors from 2018–Sept. 2025), showing about 679 confirmed exoplanets and 5,165 candidates; the image traces the Milky Way’s plane and demonstrates TESS’s ongoing success in finding diverse worlds, including possible habitable-zone planets, while total exoplanet confirmations across missions exceed 6,270.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#all-sky-mosaic #exoplanet-candidates #exoplanets

science2 months ago•16 min saved

AI-led scan hints at 10,000 hidden exoplanet candidates

A study using artificial intelligence on NASA’s TESS data identifies about 10,000 new exoplanet candidates beyond our solar system. While these are unconfirmed, the approach could speed up the search for potentially habitable worlds, adding to the thousands of known planets and thousands more awaiting verification.

via The Daily Beast|

#ai #arxiv #exoplanets

space2 months ago•4 min saved

TESS Finds 27 Hidden Worlds by Timing Eclipses in Binary Stars

NASA’s TESS analyzed 1,590 eclipsing binaries and found 27 candidate exoplanets by timing the stars’ mutual eclipses, a method that can detect planets even when they don’t transit. The candidates range from ~12 Earth masses to ~10 Jupiter masses, with confirmation needing follow-up velocity measurements; the work expands planet searches in binary systems beyond the standard transit approach.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#binary-stars #eclipsing-binaries #exoplanets

science2 months ago•32 min saved

Twin-sun worlds: 27 circumbinary planet candidates spotted in latest survey

A new survey using data from NASA’s TESS telescope identified 27 strong circumbinary planet candidates orbiting binary star systems (out of 1,590 binaries), suggesting there could be thousands of such planets hiding in the galaxy. Planets are inferred from variations in the stars’ eclipse timings, and while the candidates range from Neptune-sized to up to Jupiter-sized, they require future observations to confirm their status.

via Yahoo News Canada|

#binary-stars #circumbinary-planets #exoplanets

science2 months ago•3 min saved

Two-Sun Worlds: 27 Candidate Circumbinary Planets Uncovered

Astronomers using apsidal precession timing of eclipsing binary stars and NASA’s TESS data identified 27 new candidate planets that would orbit two stars. Distances range from 650 to 18,000 light-years, adding to about 18 previously known circumbinary planets. Follow-up spectral analysis is needed to confirm whether these bodies are planets (likely Neptune-sized to ~10 Jupiter masses) or brown dwarfs/stars. The study was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

via The Guardian|

#astronomy #binary-stars #circumbinary-planets

space2 months ago•60 min saved

AI flags 11,554 exoplanet candidates, potentially tripling known alien worlds

A new arXiv study uses a machine‑learning algorithm to sift through 83,717,159 stars observed by NASA’s TESS, uncovering 11,554 exoplanet candidates (10,052 of which are newly identified) with orbital periods from 0.5 to 27 days. Researchers even confirmed a hot Jupiter, TIC 183374187 b, with the Magellan telescope, validating the method. If these candidates are verified by independent surveys, the total number of known exoplanets could rise to about 18,000, nearly triple the current count. Most candidates lie around very faint stars and require extensive follow‑up; the work posted on arXiv on April 20 has not yet been peer‑reviewed. While many candidates are unlikely to host life due to their close orbits, this study dramatically expands the census of exoplanets and demonstrates the power of machine‑learning in astronomy.

via Live Science|

#astronomy #exoplanets #machine-learning

science2 months ago•4 min saved

TESS Data Reanalysis Uncovers 11,554 Exoplanet Candidates in a Single Sweep

A reanalysis of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) data uncovers 11,554 exoplanet candidates (11,554 total; 10,091 new), the largest batch ever identified from a single dataset. The candidates extend detections up to about 6,800 light-years toward the Milky Way's center, with many likely hot Jupiters. About 50% of detections may be false positives, so an estimated 3,000–5,000 could be real planets. While not all will be confirmed, the large sample enables broad comparisons of planetary systems and deeper insights into planet formation.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#astronomy #data-analysis #exoplanets