NASA's Planet-hunting TESS catches a comet before starting science
Monday, August 6, 2018 - 10:30
in Astronomy & Space
Before NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) started science operations on July 25, 2018, the planet hunter sent back a stunning sequence of serendipitous images showing the motion of a comet. Taken over the course of 17 hours on July 25, these TESS images helped demonstrate the satellite's ability to collect a prolonged set of stable periodic images covering a broad region of the sky—all critical factors in finding transiting planets orbiting nearby stars.