NASA's TESS releases 8-year map flagging over 6,000 targets
NASA's TESS satellite just dropped a massive map of the night sky, built from eight years of nonstop planet hunting.
Since 2018, TESS has scanned 96 sky sectors and flagged over 6,000 spots where new worlds might be hiding: some already confirmed as exoplanets, others waiting for a closer look.
It's a big leap in our search for planets beyond our solar system.
TESS confirmed 679 exoplanets
TESS finds planets by watching for tiny dips in starlight when a planet passes in front of its star, a bit like spotting a bug crossing a flashlight beam.
By September 2025, TESS had confirmed 679 exoplanets and found over 5,000 more candidates. These range from mini planets smaller than Mercury to giant ones bigger than Jupiter; some even orbit in zones where liquid water could exist.
On top of that, TESS helps track asteroids and distant galaxies too—making it one versatile space explorer.