One more success recorded for TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) of NASA as it found 3 striking planets residing at a close-by star. Of which, one is a super-Earth, a little larger than Earth, whereas the other 2 are Neptune-like exoplanets—such similar ones cannot be found in our own solar system.
The star is dubbed TOI 270, sanding for TESS Object of Interest 270, while “UCAC4 191-004642” is its official name. It is 40% smaller compared to our Sun and also around a third cooler. It resides 73 light-years away that makes it a neighbor. The fascinating planets of TOI 270 were found by TESS hunting for a fading of the host star that signifies a planet crossing around it.
The planet nearest to the star is around 25% larger than Earth and is probably rocky and TOI 270 b is the name given to this “super-Earth.” The other planets, TOI 270 d and TOI 270 c, probably somewhat resemble gas-giant Neptune in composition. NASA said, “Planet d and c might best be depicted as mini-Neptunes, a kind of planet not observed in our own solar system.”
The finding of exoplanets is just the beginning. The lead author of the paper issued in Nature Astronomy journal, Maximilian Günther, said, “Soon TOI-270 will enable us to learn this ‘missing link’ between the gas-dominant mini-Neptunes and the rocky Earth-like planets, as all of these kinds are shaped in the same system.”
Likewise, recently the Hubble telescope observed a striking spiral galaxy at over 70 million light-years far-off our solar system. Dubbed as NGC 2985, the spiral galaxy can be located in the Great Bear, or Ursa Major, constellation. The cosmos is packed with spiral galaxies, including around 77% of those detected. The Milky Way, our own home galaxy, is one of them.
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