NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has accomplished its goals with flying colors. The space agency revealed that its spacecraft has identified more than 2,200 potential planets since its mission began in 2018. Hundreds of those are smaller planets, some of which could include rocky worlds that are more Earth-like (though not necessarily habitable).
NASA's TESS was expected to find 1,600 planets in its first two years.
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Some of the discoveries are decidedly unusual. The rocky planet TOI-700 d is just 100 light-years away. LHS 3844 b is a “super-near-Earth” with an extremely close orbit of 11 hours. TOI 1690 b is the rare survivor of a red giant star that devours planets in its orbit, while TOI 849 b appears to be a gas giant that either lost its atmosphere or never had one.
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There's no guarantee that every find will hold up under scrutiny. So far, 120 planets have been confirmed, and NASA is banking on future spacecraft like the James Webb to study the planet candidates in more detail.
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Even so, the sheer volume of planets has already said a lot about their diversity and what it could mean for the world at large.
Information source: engadget.com
