An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A → NASA space telescope devoted to the hunt for planets orbiting the brightest stars in the sky, launched on April 18, 2018. The mission is planned to monitor at least 200,000 stars for signs of → exoplanets using the → planetary transit method. TESS is equipped with four identical refractive → cameras with a combined → field of view (FOV) of 24 × 96 degrees. Each camera consists of a → CCD detector assembly, a → lens assembly, and a lens hood. The → entrance pupil diameter is 10.5 cm and the wavelength range 600 to 1,000 nm. The satellite is a follow-up of NASA's → Kepler spacecraft, but focuses on stars that are 30 to 100 times brighter than those Kepler examined.

→ transit; → exoplanet; → survey.

A planet that passes in front of its star directly between Earth and the star. The → transit method is used for detecting → exoplanets around stars.

→ transit; → planet.

A Belgian facility devoted to the detection and characterization of → exoplanets and to the study of → comets (→ transiting planet) and other → small solar system bodies. It consists of two 60 cm robotic telescopes located at the → European Southern Observatory, → La Silla, in Chile and at Oukaïmden Observatory in Marroco.

→ transit; → planet; → planetesimal; → small; → telescope.