WETENSCHAP: NASA’s newest planet hunter, named TESS = transiting exoplanet survey satellite; results after 1 year!

30 July; It has discovered three new worlds — 1. similar on Earth and 2 and 3 of a type not found in our solar system — orbiting a nearby star. The planets straddle an observed gap in the sizes of known planets and promise to be among the most curious targets for future studies.

TESS Object of Interest (TOI) 270 is a faint, cool star more commonly identified by its catalog name: UCAC4 191-004642. The M-type dwarf star is about 40% smaller than the Sun in both size and mass, and it has a surface temperature about one-third cooler than the Sun. The planetary system lies about 73 light-years away in the southern constellation of Pictor.