Using the Swiss space telescope CHEOPS (Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite), researchers have discovered four new exoplanets. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the so-called mini-Neptunes are unlike any other planet in our solar system.
Named TOI 5678 b and HIP 9618 c, the planets are 4.9 and 3.4 Earth radii, respectively. Two of the four planets were discovered by researchers from the universities of Bern and Geneva, the universities said. The corresponding studies were published in the journals “Astronomy & Astrophysics” and “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society”.
According to the researchers, the discovery was preceded by a long hide and seek. The first signs of the existence of the new exoplanets were discovered by NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission.
However, the TESS space observatory changes its field of view every 27 days to scan a large part of the sky as quickly as possible. “This prevents TESS from finding planets in longer orbits,” said Hugh Osborn of the University of Bern in a statement.
Similar transits have been observed around the same stars
Nevertheless, the TESS satellite was able to observe individual transits of planets around the stars TOI 5678 and HIP 9618. A transit is an astronomical phenomenon in which a celestial body passes in front of another celestial body and blocks some of the light.
Two years later, when TESS returned to the same field of view, the satellite again observed similar transits around the same stars. Despite these observations, it has not yet been possible to unequivocally deduce the presence of planets around these stars, as crucial information is still missing.
This is where the Swiss CHEOPS space telescope came into play: The scientists calculated the most likely orbital times and pointed the observatory at the same stars at the time they expected the planets to pass. After several attempts, CHEOPS captured the planets and was able to confirm their existence.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
