MIT Astronomers Discover a 'Multi-Planet' System, With 2 Earths Existing—Based on TESS Data

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology released new research from astronomers and scholars that focus on a new multi-planet system similar to our galaxy's solar system. The new system has two Earth-sized planets that are also rocky in their state, and the researchers discovered this nearby location using NASA's TESS satellite data.

MIT Astronomers Discover a New Multi-Planet System with 2 Earths

MIT announced online that there is a system close to the planet, and it holds a "multi-planet" system that is only 33 light-years away from the Earth, existing in the same galaxy. In the system, two Earth-sized rocky planets appeared to be orbiting an ancient star in the area, said to be one of the oldest in the Milky Way.

Two terrestrial planets the size of the Earth are orbiting an M-dwarf star known as HD 260655, and it is the said multi-planet system is now the focus of the study from astronomers of the institution. It is one of the closest multi-planet systems to the Solar System as it lies 10 parsecs away from the planet, or 33 light-years to travel to the location.

NASA's TESS Data Helps in the Discovery of this New System

Researchers and astronomers from MIT are looking at this discovery as a win, as it is nearby and may provide any information to their study as it is close to a star, making it a visible one for their needs. NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was the first spacecraft to spot the new system from within the galaxy.

NASA's TESS Satellite Discoveries

NASA's TESS focuses on bringing the world more discoveries regarding deep space. It aims to point its telescopes and cameras toward locations where it can see exoplanets and faraway stars. The space apparatus is powerful, and it is designed the way it is, focusing on the discoveries of new worlds and systems that remain unknown in the vast cosmos.

There was once a discovery by TESS regarding a "Super-Earth" in the same galaxy that we are in now, and it orbits a famous star, one of the oldest heavenly objects. TESS's surveying of the Super-Earth within the Milky Way galaxy only shows that even nearby locations have worlds similar to what humans live in now.

Many missions come and go and hope to explain more about space to the public for their information and knowledge regarding it.

The researchers set out to see what TESS' satellites initially saw in their data gathering, and it brought the world additional information regarding a planet system that is, in a way, similar to our planet. It is only nearby, and it may suggest that it is a living planet that is the same as Earth, with researchers having more chances to survey it if it holds any atmosphere like the home planet.

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Written by Isaiah Richard