TESS Sky Mosaic Reveals Nearly 6,000 Exoplanets in Most Complete View Yet
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has released a stunning new mosaic of the sky, composed of 96 sectors observed between April 2018 and September 2025. The image includes nearly 6,000 colored dots representing confirmed or candidate exoplanets identified by the mission as of the end of TESS's second extended mission.
How TESS Works
- TESS scans a sector of the sky for about a month at a time, using its four cameras to track brightness changes in stars.
- It searches for subtle variations in starlight caused by orbiting planets passing in front of their host stars.
Key Highlights
- The all-sky mosaic fills in gaps from previous observations, providing the most complete view of the starry sky to date from TESS.
- Discovered exoplanets range in size from Mercury-like to larger than Jupiter, with some located in the habitable zone where liquid water might exist.
"The mission has helped find planets of various sizes, including some in the habitable zone, which is relevant to the search for life beyond Earth."
– Rebekah Hounsell, TESS associate project scientist at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center