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Astronomers identify nearly 2,000 nearby stars that could harbor Earth-like planets
- The catalog of stars has been completed by researchers on a list of 470 million
- Using the TESS satellite, NASA will be able to examine Earth-type exoplanets.
- The planets were chosen according to the distance to their star and their radiation
A team of astronomers has identified nearly 2,000 stars about to study habitable exoplanets, similar to the Earth.
Astronomers – from Cornell, Lehigh and Vanderbilt universities – have reduced their search to 250,000 stars.
The research will use NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TES), capable of scanning 85% of the sky in its entirety.
The instruments onboard the satellite are sensitive enough to locate Earth-sized planets that could orbit around 1,823 of these identified stars.
A team of astronomers has identified nearly 2,000 stars about to study habitable exoplanets, similar to the Earth. Overall, there are 470 million observable stars observable by TESS
"Our ambition is not only to detect hundreds of Earth-like worlds in other solar systems, but also to find them around our nearest solar systems," said Keivan Stassun, professor of physics and physics. Astronomy in Stevenson, in a statement.
"In a few years we may know that there are others, with atmospheres that breathe."
Among the key factors in NASA's search for habitable exoplanets, there is their proximity to the star in orbit as well as the type of star.
In a statement, the researchers said they would observe "bright, cold dwarves", the closest of them being within four light-years away.
If TESS identifies a planet whose atmosphere is similar to that of Earth, researchers believe that the next step – whether it already contains life or not – will be a more delicate task.
Identifying the life of more distant and colder planets considered to be outside of what is known as the "habitable zone" would probably require flying to the surface of the planet.
The TESS mission began last year when a SpaceX rocket launched into space for a two-year trip.
"We will not know yet if there is something, or whoever breathes. Nevertheless, we are living a remarkable period in the history of humanity and a huge step forward for our understanding of our place in the universe, "said Stassun.
Last year, the TESS mission was launched for two years and will map 26 segments of the sky.
In its first year of operation, it has mapped the 13 sectors that make up the southern skies and this year it will soon be traveling through the northern areas.
The high-powered device, launched by a SpaceX rocket from Elon Musk, shared its first footage last August – a star cover rendered in a clarity never seen before.
WHAT IS SPACECRAFT TESS?
The new "planet hunter" of NASA, which should succeed Kepler, is equipped with four cameras allowing him to view 85% of the total sky, while he is looking for exoplanets in orbit around stars to less than 300 light-years away.
By studying much brighter objects than Kepler's targets, it is hoped that TESS could discover new clues about the possibility of living elsewhere in the universe.
His four wide-field cameras will see the sky in 26 segments that he will observe one by one.
In its first year of operation, it will map the 13 sectors that make up the southern sky.
Then, the following year, he will cross the northern sectors.
"Kepler taught us that there were more planets than stars in our sky and that now, TESS will open our eyes to the variety of planets surrounding some of the closest stars," said Paul Hertz, director of the astrophysics division at NASA headquarters.
"TESS will launch a larger network than ever before for the enigmatic worlds whose properties can be explored by NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope and other missions."
Tess is 1.5 meters wide and shorter than most adults.
The observatory is 1.2 meters long, not counting the solar wings folded for launch, and weighs only 362 kilos.
NASA says its size varies between the size of a refrigerator and that of a stacked washer and dryer.
Tess will target a single elongated orbit that passes 45,000 km from the Earth at one end and as far as the moon's orbit at the other end.
It will take two weeks for Tess to go around the Earth.
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