How NASA’s Newest Planet Hunter Scans the Sky

The TESS mission, led by MIT, aims to discover thousands of new planets orbiting nearby stars. Over a two-year survey, TESS will observe a wide range of stars to find planets from Earth's size to larger than Jupiter. Equipped with four cameras, each with a 16.8 megapixel sensor, TESS will cover 85% of the sky, significantly more than NASA's Kepler mission. The mission will first scan the southern sky, then the northern sky, with overlapping observation sectors allowing continuous monitoring near the poles. This area is also observed by the James Webb Space Telescope, enabling joint efforts to find and study exoplanets, enhancing our understanding of other worlds.

What is the primary goal of the TESS mission?

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Describe the capabilities of TESS's cameras.

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How does TESS differ from NASA's Kepler mission in terms of the area it surveys?

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What is the significance of the overlapping observation sectors of TESS?

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How does TESS collaborate with the James Webb Space Telescope?

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