Universe ID: 14265

TESS 2022 Sky Views

Released on January 20, 2023

This all-sky mosaic was constructed from over 900 TESS images. The north and south ecliptic poles – the ends of imaginary lines extending above and below Earth's orbit around the Sun – lie at the top and bottom of the image. The Andromeda galaxy is the small, bright oval near the upper right edge. The Lage Magellanic Cloud can be seen along the bottom edge just left of center. Above and to the left of it shine the Small Magellanic Cloud and the bright star cluster 47 Tucanae. Molleweide projection.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is an Explorer-class mission, operated by MIT, that is designed to detect planets passing in front of, or transiting, their host stars. Launched in 2018, TESS completed its primary mission in July 2020 and is now operating in its extended mission.

The mosaics on these pages combine hundreds of images from all 24° by 90° sectors surveyed through October 2022, illustrating the mission's progress in mapping the sky. By then, TESS had discovered 266 exoplanets and more than 5,900 candidates.

Prominent features in these images include the Milky Way, a glowing arc that represents the bright central plane of our galaxy, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds – satellite galaxies of our own located, respectively, 160,000 and 200,000 light-years away. In the northern sky, look for the small, oblong shape of the Andromeda galaxy (M 31), the closest big spiral galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away.

In this movie, the TESS all-sky mosaic shown above builds up by showing individual sectors appearing in chronological order. Note that full-resolution movies are brief to conserve space. The full-resolution ProRes version includes an alpha channel.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

The entire southern ecliptic sky imaged by TESS is captured in this mosaic. The south ecliptic pole lies at the center, within the dark spot. Below it shine the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, nearby satellites of our galaxy. The bright band of the Milky Way, the central plane of our galaxy, arcs through the scene at left. Azimuthal equidistant projection.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park))

The TESS southern mosaic shown above builds up by showing individual sectors in chronological order. Note that full-resolution movies are brief to conserve space. The full-resolution ProRes version includes an alpha channel. Frames are available in both high and low resolution.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

The entire northern ecliptic sky imaged by TESS is captured in this mosaic. The north ecliptic pole lies at the center. The bright band of the Milky Way, the central plane of our galaxy, arcs through the scene at left. The Andromeda galaxy (M 31) can be seen as a prominent oval at about 10 o'clock. Azimuthal equidistant projection.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

The TESS northern mosaic shown above builds up by showing individual sectors appearing in chronological order. Note that full-resolution movies are brief to conserve space. The full-resolution ProRes version includes an alpha channel. Frames are available in both high and low resolution.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

All-sky cylindrical (plate carrée) projection of TESS images.

Credit: NASA/MIT/TESS and Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park)

Older Version

Credits

Francis Reddy (University of Maryland College Park): Science Writer
Ethan Kruse (University of Maryland College Park): Lead Visualizer
Scott Wiessinger (KBRwyle): Producer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. However, individual items should be credited as indicated above.

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https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14265

Mission:
TESS

This item is part of this series:
Astrophysics Stills

Keywords:
SVS >> Galaxy
SVS >> Astrophysics
SVS >> Universe
SVS >> Space
SVS >> Star
NASA Science >> Universe
SVS >> Exoplanet
SVS >> TESS