[ad_1]
The transiting exoplanet survey satellite (TESS) took this snapshot of the large Magellan cloud (right) and the bright star R Doradus (left) with a single detector. one of his cameras on August 7th. part of the southern sky TESS captured in his scientific image "first light" as part of his first series of data collection. (Credit: NASA / MIT / TESS)
NASA unveiled the first images of Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TITES), its $ 337 million exotic planetary satellite, and the results are simply unbelievable.
The first cloud of Magellan and the bright star R Doradus, among several other planets and stars, could accommodate an extraterrestrial life.
"In a sea of stars brimming with new worlds, TESS is throwing a wide net and will carry a host of promising planets for further study," said Paul Hertz, director of the astrophysics division at the headquarters of The NASA. "This scientific image of the" first light "shows the capabilities of the TESS cameras and shows that the mission will realize its incredible potential in our search for another Earth.
NASA'S NEXT PLANET HUNTER IS READY TO FIND DISCOVERED WORLDS
In April, TESS was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is expected to identify thousands of planets in our cosmic backyard, which adds to the premium provided over the past decade by the Kepler Space Telescope. The NASA.
The transiting exoplanet survey satellite (TESS) took this snapshot of the large Magellan cloud (right) and the bright star R Doradus (left) with a single detector. one of his cameras on August 7th. part of the southern sky TESS captured in his scientific image "first light" as part of his first series of data collection.
(Credit: NASA / MIT / TESS)
The planets discovered by Kepler are too far away and too weak for a practical study. But those that TESS has found should be close enough for mega-telescopes to detect signs of life in the atmosphere.
The images were taken by TESS's four wide-angle cameras for a period of 30 minutes on August 7, NASA said. The images include parts of 12 constellations, "from Capricornus to Pictor, and the two big and small magellanic clouds, the closest galaxies to ours," added NASA.
The bright spots are two stars, Beta Gruis and R Doradus, which NASA said "saturate a whole column of pixels on the detectors of the second and fourth cameras of TESS, creating long spikes of light" due to the intense brightness.
"This part of the southern hemisphere of the sky includes more than a dozen stars that we know have planets in transit through studies by ground-based observatories," said George Ricker, principal investigator for Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. declaration.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) captured this band of stars and galaxies in the southern sky for a period of 30 minutes on Tuesday, August 7th. Created by combining the view of the four cameras, this is the "first fire," the first area of observation that will be used to identify planets around other stars. Notable features of this part of the southern sky include large and small magellanic clouds and a globular cluster called NGC 104, also known as 47 Tucanae. The brightest stars in the image, Beta Gruis and R Doradus, saturated an entire column of camera-detecting pixels on the satellite's second and fourth cameras.
(Credit: NASA / MIT / TESS)
SPACEX BFR: FLY EVERYWHERE ON EARTH UNDER ONE HOUR
Background of TESS
NASA's director of astrophysics, Paul Hertz, said missions such as TESS would help determine whether we are alone – or just lucky enough to have "the best real estate of choice in the galaxy".
Always on the lookout, Kepler alone discovered more than 2,600 confirmed exoplanets. Even more candidates are waiting for confirmation.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) captured this band of stars and galaxies in the southern sky for a period of 30 minutes on Tuesday, August 7th. Created by combining the view of the four cameras, this is the first light, the first area of observation that will be used to identify planets around other stars. Notable features of this part of the southern sky include large and small magellanic clouds and a globular cluster called NGC 104, also known as 47 Tucanae. The brightest stars in the image, Beta Gruis and R Doradus, saturated an entire column of camera-detecting pixels on the satellite's second and fourth cameras. No object label.
(Credit: NASA / MIT / TESS)
The number of exoplanets, of all the space and terrestrial observatories of the last two decades, amounts to more than 3,700 confirmed, of whom 4,500 are on the list of serious candidates.
About 50 people would be potentially habitable. They have the right size and good orbit of their star to support surface water and, at least theoretically, to support life.
SOLAR SCIENCE WEIRD: HOW WILL NASA'S PARKER PROBE PITCH IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUN?
Scientists speculate that the habitable zone or so-called Goldilocks – the distance from a star where it is neither too hot nor too cold to support life, but with the potential for liquid water on the surface – should to be much closer to the red dwarfs than it is in our own solar system. The orbits of all the planets in these systems should be rather short.
NASA and other stakeholders point out that TESS will not look for atmospheric signs or other signs of life. it can not do that.
Webb, the successor to the next generation Hubble Space Telescope that was set up until at least 2020, and even more important observatories to come.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) captured this square of stars in the southern sky with its first camera for a 30-minute period on Tuesday, August 7th. Bright objects are labeled.
(Credit: NASA / MIT / TESS)
If life, indeed, is detected there – whether microscopic or a higher form – scientists like to think that robotic explorers would be launched from the Earth for further inspections.
Jeff Volosin, project manager at NASA, notes that technology to reach these distant worlds, or even to communicate, does not exist yet.
"For me, the simple fact of knowing that there would be enough," Volosin told The Associated Press in April. "I just know you're not alone."
Fox News' James Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
[ad_2]
Source link
