Search starlight to assist astronomers uncover new exoplanets

TESS spacecraft in front of Earth and the moon TESS will look at the nearest, brightest stars to find planetary candidates that scientists will observe for years to come. Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center As the search for life on distant planets heats up, NASA?s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is bringing this hunt closer to home. Launching in 2017-2018, TESS will identify planets orbiting the brightest stars just outside our solar system using what?s known as the transit method. When a planet passes in front of, or transits, its parent star, it blocks some of the star's light. TESS searches for these telltale dips in brightness, which can reveal the planet's presence and provide additional information about it.

NASA's Goddard House Flight Heart

THIS month I'm escaping from Earth and becoming a member of astronomers of their seek for undiscovered worlds. You possibly can too, by taking part within the Planet Hunters TESS undertaking on-line.

You'll be requested to flick by way of observations from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite tv for pc (TESS) and look out for indicators of worlds past our photo voltaic system. Every time considered one of these exoplanets passes in entrance of its mother or father star – a course of generally known as transiting – it blocks out a small quantity of the star’s gentle.

The dimming that happens throughout a planet’s transit could be detected by the satellite tv for pc, showing as a dip …