Apr 19 - TESS!

April 19 TESS! by:

TESS planet hunter on its way "It's the beginning of a new era of exoplanet research." What is an exoplanet? Humans have been speculating about their existence for thousands of years, but ours is the 1st generation to know, with certainty, that exoplanets are really out there. Next few evenings … Moon sweeps through Winter Circle What a great time to identify many bright stars! Keep watching, and let the moon be your guide. See it! Moon sweeps past Venus Photos are still coming in from the EarthSky community as the moon and Venus - still near each other - grace our evening skies.

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Next few evenings … Moon sweeps through Winter Circle Not winter where you are? No problem. The moon will still be moving through this same great circle (or hexagon) of stars.

TESS planet hunter on its way TESS is now in a highly elliptical orbit around Earth. Over the course of several weeks, it'll use 6 thruster burns to travel in a series of progressively elongated orbits to reach the moon, which will provide a gravity assist, enabling the craft to transfer into its 13.7-day final science orbit around Earth. After approximately 60 days of check-out and instrument testing, TESS will begin seeking planets … Submit your photo to EarthSky here! Did a friend forward EarthSkyNews to you? Click here to get your own subscription!

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