Latest news with #TESS
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 The surface of molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. READ MORE ON SPACE The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Credit: Nasa "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a Most read in Science Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope 5 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the
Scottish Sun
6 hours ago
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated NIGHTMARE WORLD Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 The surface of molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Credit: Nasa "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new research paper. The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a repetitive flicker of starlight to a new 'Super Earth' 154 light-years away. Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope discovered its first-ever exoplanet just last month, but has been used to analyse others on its journey through space. 5 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Credit: Alamy 5 An artist's impression of a molten exoplanet Credit: Alamy All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet How many moons does Mercury have? What colour is Venus? How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet How big is Jupiter? How many moons does Saturn have? Does Uranus have rings? How many moons does Neptune have? How big is Pluto? How hot is the Sun?
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Science
- The Sun
Terrifying new Earth-sized planet found with deadly secret that would instantly kill anyone visiting
A NEW Earth-sized planet has been discovered in a faraway constellation - and it would kill any astronaut who dare travel there. Some 117.4 light-years away from Earth, scientists have stumbled across a nightmarish alien world where the planet's surface is likely molten. 5 5 The planet, dubbed TOI-2431, orbits quite close to its nearest star over a very short period, resulting in a high surface temperature. Unlike Earth, which has an orbital period of 365 days, TOI-2431 orbits its star in only 5.4 hours - making it one of the shortest period exoplanets ever discovered. The alien world, located in constellation Cetus, is thought to have a surface temperature of about 1,700C (3092F). Anything that lands there would be immediately incinerated. The international team of astronomers, led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, detected the new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star using Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 5 "We have confirmed the ultra-short period planet TOI-2431 b using a combination of photometric transit data from TESS, precise radial velocity observations with the NEID and HPF spectrographs, and ground-based speckle imaging with the NESSI instrument," researchers wrote in the new research paper. The Nasa tool monitors about 200,000 bright stars near Earth, scanning for hidden planets that might cause any blips of light as they pass their star. Just last week, researchers revealed they used TESS to follow a repetitive flicker of starlight to a new 'Super Earth' 154 light-years away. Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 possible exoplanets - which are nicknamed TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI. Exactly 638 of these have been confirmed as alien worlds so far. Best-ever sign of ALIEN life found on distant planet as scientists '99.7% sure of astounding biological activity signal' The planet's host star is only about two-thirds the size and mass of our Sun, and appears to be pulling the planet towards a fiery death. Researchers estimated that the planet has a tidal decay timescale of about 31 million years - which is fairly short in the grand schemes of the universe. Tidal decay causes a planet's orbit to gradually shrink and spiral towards its host star - eventually leading to its destruction. The 2billion-year-old host star, which researchers believe is roughly double the temperature of its nearby planet, will eventually collide with the planet. Researchers hope they can secure time with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to study TOI-2431 b more closely. Doing so could shed more light on the planet's surface composition, and may answer the question of whether or not it has an atmosphere. The $10 billion telescope discovered its first-ever exoplanet just last month, but has been used to analyse others on its journey through space. 5 5
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mirror
'Rare' planet like Jupiter discovered 400 light years away
The discovered gaseous planet, named TOI-4465 b, is located around 400 light-years from Earth and is around the same size as Jupiter, but with a much smaller orbit A planet has been spotted roughly 400 light years away from Earth. Dubbed TOI-4465 b, this colossal, gas-filled world bears striking similarities to Jupiter. The breakthrough came courtesy of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission alongside Unistellar's network of amateur astronomers. Franck Marchis, a Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute and Chief Scientific Officer at Unistellar, explained: "This planet is scientifically significant because it helps bridge a gap in our understanding of planetary systems. "So far, we mostly detect hot Jupiters orbiting very close to their stars, unlike the cold gas giants in our own solar system", reports the Express. "TOI-4465 b falls somewhere in between - a 'temperate' Jupiter, offering a valuable case study of gas giants that bridge the gap between the most prolific gas giants and those in our solar neighbourhood." TOI-4465 b stands out as an unusual specimen - a massive, compact world that completes its stellar orbit every 102 days. Being a long-period exoplanet made confirming its presence exceptionally challenging, as spotting another transit was highly unlikely. A long-period giant refers to a substantial planet, similar to Jupiter, which requires considerable time to circle its host star. Research leader and University of Mexico scientist Zahra Essack noted: "This discovery is important because long-period exoplanets, defined as having orbital periods longer than 100 days, are difficult to detect and confirm due to limited observational opportunities and resources. "As a result, they are underrepresented in our current catalogue of exoplanets. Studying these long-period planets gives us insights into how planetary systems form and evolve under more moderate conditions." A global team of 24 observers from the UK, US, Japan, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Austria contributed data, with 21 being amateur stargazers. The elusive transit signature of the planet was detected just once in TESS observations. A transit signature is the slight dimming of a star caused by a planet crossing in front of it, hinting at the presence of an orbiting planet. Prompted by TOI-4465 b's transit signature, the study's lead researcher collected radial velocity measurements to determine the star's motion towards or away from Earth, often influenced by the gravitational pull of a planet. Armed with this information, they forecasted the next transit event and alerted astronomers at the SETI Institute. Guided by SETI experts, Unistellar's network of citizen astronomers successfully recorded what has been termed a "long and challenging" transit. Despite the transit enduring around 12 hours, the international scope of the network allowed for coordinated observation throughout the entire occurrence. Given the uncertainty surrounding the precise timing of the planet's journey across its star, astronomers kept watch over a span of three days. Mr Marchis revealed: "TOI-4465 b is the most massive, long-period giant to transit a sub-solar metallicity star." This refers to a star with fewer elements other than hydrogen and helium when compared to our sun. He continued: "It's a great candidate for follow-up observations of its atmosphere, so there's a good chance JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) will be looking at this planet at some point in the future." Mr Marchis highlighted that individuals with a digital smart telescope can now spot and confirm exoplanets from their own gardens, aiding NASA in charting planetary systems identified by the TESS mission. He added: "The likelihood of TESS observing another transit of a planet like TOI-4465 b, which happens only every 102 days, is low. So the SETI-Unistellar network is essential for these discoveries."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Bad news for alien life? Earth-size planets may be less common than we thought
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As many as 200 worlds beyond our solar system discovered by astronomers may be larger than estimated, which could influence the search for extraterrestrial life. That's the theory of a team of researchers who looked at hundreds of extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, observed by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). TESS hunts exoplanets by catching them as they cross the face of, or "transit," their parent star, which causes a tiny drop in light from that star. The study team discovered that light from stars neighboring the one being transited could "contaminate" TESS' data, making it look like the transiting planet is blocking less light than it actually is. And that would make the planet look smaller than it is. "We found that hundreds of exoplanets are larger than they appear, and that shifts our understanding of exoplanets on a large scale," University of California, Irvine researcher and team leader Te Han said in a statement. "This means we may have actually found fewer Earth-like planets so far than we thought." Exoplanets throw shade Exoplanets are so distant and faint that it is only on rare occasions that astronomers can image them directly. That means the transit method has become the most successful way of detecting worlds beyond the solar system. It requires the planet and its star to be at the right angle in relation to Earth, and for astronomers to wait for the planet to make two transits to confirm its existence. The transit method is best at spotting short-period planets orbiting close to their host stars, because they make more frequent transits. The method also favors larger planets, which block more light. "We're basically measuring the shadow of the planet," said team member and UC Irvine astronomer Paul Robertson. The team gathered hundreds of TESS observations of exoplanets, sorting them by the width of the exoplanets in question. They then used computer modeling and data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) star-tracking mission Gaia to estimate how much light contamination TESS is experiencing during its observations. "TESS data are contaminated, which Te's custom model corrects better than anyone else in the field," said Robertson. "What we find in this study is that these planets may systematically be larger than we initially thought. It raises the question: Just how common are Earth-sized planets?" Move over Earth-like worlds: ocean planets could be more common Because of the biases of the transit method mentioned above, the number of exoplanets detected with TESS having sizes and compositions similar to those of Earth was already low. "Of the single-planet systems discovered by TESS so far, only three were thought to be similar to Earth in their composition," Han explained. "With this new finding, all of them are actually bigger than we thought." The likely outcome of this is that those exoplanets are larger ocean planets or "hycean worlds" covered by a large single ocean. Those worlds could also be gas giants smaller than Jupiter, like Neptune and Uranus. That impacts the search for life because, though hycean worlds are packed with water, they could be lacking other ingredients needed for life to arise. "This has important implications for our understanding of exoplanets, including, among other things, prioritization for follow-up observations with the James Webb Space Telescope, and the controversial existence of a galactic population of water worlds," Roberston added. Related Stories: — The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its 1st exoplanet and snapped its picture (image) — Astronomers discover origins of mysterious double hot Jupiter exoplanets: 'It is a dance of sorts' — NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft and citizen scientists discover a cool new alien world The next step for Han, Roberston, and colleagues is to re-examine planets previously deemed uninhabitable due to their size, to see if they are larger than previously thought. In the meantime, the research is a reminder to astronomers to be cautious when assessing TESS data. The team's research was published on Monday (July 14) in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. Solve the daily Crossword
