NASA's
newly launched Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has made a
close flyby with the moon, using the celestial body to make a 'gravity
assist' manoeuvre to help the probe reach its final orbit. TESS will be
used to monitor stars' brightness, searching for tiny dips that could be
signs of alien planets crossing the stars' faces.
TESS snapped
its first image with one of its scientific cameras on April 26. This
photo centred on the southern constellation Centaurus and showed over
200,000 stars.
"The edge of the Coalsack Nebula is in the right upper corner, and the
bright star Beta Centauri is visible at the lower left edge," NASA
officials wrote in a statement.
"TESS is expected to cover more than 400 times as much sky as shown in
this image with its four cameras during its initial two-year search for
exoplanets. A science-quality image, also referred to as a 'first light'
image, is expected to be released in June."
Read more about this fascinating story at: https://www.space.com/40634-tess-exoplanet-satellite-moon-flyby-first-photo.html
Or read the official statement at: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/nasa-s-new-planet-hunter-snaps-initial-test-image-swings-by-moon-toward-final-orbit
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Tuesday, May 22, 2018
NASA's New Exoplanet Telescope Captures Its 1st Photo to Celebrate Moon Flyby
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