NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has found a huge number of exoplanets so far. The mission was designed to hunt planets orbiting distant stars, but the space agency has also used it to make other discoveries. Now, TESS has discovered red giant stars.
The space agency says scientists using TESS have found an entire collection of pulsating red giant stars across the cosmos. These stars have rhythms produced by internal soundwaves. NASA scientist Marc Hon says the initial results using stellar measurements that were gathered with the help of TESS have enabled the team to determine the size and mass of some red giant stars.
TESS’ precision is the key
Hon also notes that as time passes, the measurements TESS is capable of taking will become more accurate. He says one of the most imperative factors is how unprecedented TESS’ coverage is, letting astronomers make measurements uniformly across the entire sky.
Researchers are looking for sound waves that can travel through any object. The sound waves reflect and interact, which means some of the soundwaves are canceled while others are reinforced. That phenomenon gives birth to standing waves that create tones in musical instruments.
Below stars’ surface, hot gas rises, cools, and then sinks where it heats up again. This motion creates waves that interact to make oscillations stable. Those oscillations can happen for a few minutes and produce slight changes in brightness that TESS is capable of detecting.
TESS hunting exoplanets
Previously, TESS found four young exoplanets, including one lava world that orbits very close to its star. TESS observed two young stars that are close to each other – TOI 2076 and TOI 1807. Four exoplanets were also discovered in orbit around them. These exoplanets are in the middle phase between birth and maturity.
Three exoplanets revolving around TOI 2076 are called mini-Neptune, as their size falls between Earth and Neptune. But the one planet that intrigued everyone was the one orbiting TOI 1807. The planet, TOI 1807 b, orbits so close to the star that a year on it lasts only 13 hours.
