Endless Stars... Endless Planets... Endless Dreamers...
What do you see? Sometimes if you get a new looking glass a whole universe of new possibilities appears. That's what NASA, MIT, and SpaceX Combined are making possible by launching TESS into orbit with the goal of discovering many new worlds in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Over the next two years TESS will scan the 200,000 or so nearest and brightest stars to Earth for telltale dimming signs caused when exoplanets cross their stars.
Would you like to know what exactly is in our own Galactic Back yard? I'm first on the list of people who are entirely excited to see the real results. The goal for TESS is to characterize newly found planetary systems and atmospheres. Particular mixtures of gases in atmospheres allow us to see key clues via spectral analysis that will reveal many details about the world's climate, history, and if it might even be hospitable to life. The Kavli Foundation spoke with two scientists about the TESS mission to get an inside look at the development, about the approach used that aims to find the first Earth twin.
From the results of the Kepler Mission we now know that TESS is expected to discover thousands of new worlds, there should be hundreds ranging in size from about one to two times Earth and many larger planets. Small rocky planets will serve as prime targets that will be the main objective for detailed follow-up observations by other telescopes in space and on the ground. There is nothing more exciting than being on the verge of making history and illuminating our understandings of the intimate details of our universe.
By,
JLC
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