A celestial mosaic composed of 126 exotic worlds has been unveiled through a collaboration between NASA's TESS satellite and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. These new data enrich our understanding of planets beyond our Solar System, comparing these worlds to the one we inhabit.
Artistic conception of the 126 planets from the latest TESS-Keck Survey catalog, based on data including the radius, mass, density, and temperature of the planets. The question marks represent planets requiring more data for complete characterization.
Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
This study, conducted by an international team of scientists, uses data from the TESS satellite and the Keck Observatory to measure the mass and density of these planets. The results have been published in
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement.
For the first time, the mass and radius of 120 confirmed planets and six candidates have been measured, revealing information about their composition and formation. Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist at the University of California, Riverside, emphasizes that these data allow us to place our Solar System in the broader context of other planetary systems.
The analysis of radial velocities (RV) enabled the detection of these planets by observing the "wobble" of their host stars. These variations in starlight are comparable to the Doppler sound effect.
Among the discoveries, certain planets, like TOI-1386 b, provide new insights into "sub-Saturns," worlds between Neptune and Saturn. The diversity of planet sizes and orbits raises questions about the uniqueness of our own system.
Another study describes a Neptune-sized planet orbiting in 19 days around a Sun-like star. These discoveries are a reminder of the Universe's diversity and the rarity of our planetary system, notes Daria Pidhorodetska, the lead author of this study.
Planets with ultra-short orbits and extreme environments, like TOI-1798 c, complete this celestial panorama. This planet, located very close to its orange dwarf star, orbits in less than 12 Earth hours, receiving intense irradiation that likely stripped away any initial atmosphere.