How Does Highlights From TESS's First Year Work?

TESS is like a super detective who looks at stars to find new planets hiding in space.

Imagine you're outside on a cloudy night, trying to see your friend’s flashlight through the clouds. Sometimes it's easy to spot, like when the cloud is thin. Other times, it's hard, like when the cloud is thick. TESS does something similar but with stars and planets. It watches how bright a star gets over time. When a planet passes in front of the star, it blocks some light, making the star look slightly dimmer for a little while.

TESS takes pictures of parts of the sky every few weeks, like taking snapshots of your friend’s flashlight through the clouds. By comparing these pictures, scientists can tell when a planet passes in front of its star, just like you might tell if your friend moved their flashlight behind a cloud by watching how bright it gets.

Over the first year, TESS looked at many stars and found new planets hiding in space, just like finding hidden toys under the couch!