NASA Discovers New Planet Dubbed ‘Hot Saturn’ Using TESS

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or TESS is showing great potential in helping scientists find new planets, the latest of which is dubbed the "hot Saturn."

Astronomers studying the stars teamed up with astronomers looking for new planets which led to the discovery of TOI 197.01 (TOI is short for "TESS Object of Interest"). It is the first planet to be identified through TESS.

In their recently accepted paper entitled “A Hot Saturn Orbiting An Oscillating Late Subgiant Discovered by TESS," the scientists described TOI 197.01 as "hot Saturn" specifically because it is the same size as Saturn. It also completes its orbit in 14 days and stands very close to its star, thus the "hot" modifier.

According to asteroseismologists, the host star of TOI-197.01, TOI-197, is around five billion years old. It is also bigger and heavier compared to our Sun. Studying the star's oscillations did not just provide its age and essential characteristics, but this also allowed scientists to discover that TOI-197.01 has a radius nine times compared to Earth's. It is a gas planet that is 1/13th the density of Earth. TOI-197.01 is also 60 times more the mass of Earth.

Daniel Huber, an assistant astronomer at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Institute for Astronomy, led the study on TOI 197.01. Co-authors of the study include Steve Kawaler, a professor of physics and astronomy, and Miles Lucas, an undergraduate student. They are both from Iowa State University.

According to the astronomers, these findings offer a glimpse of what TESS can do.

"This is the first bucketful of water from the firehose of data we're getting from TESS," Kawler added.

Astrophysicists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology worked on TESS and launched it on April 18 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The primary objective of TESS is to look for planets outside our solar system and possibly provide more leads to help discover alien life.

TESS predecessor Kepler focused on distant stars while observing a narrow part of the Milky Way galaxy. Just like Kepler, TESS will look for tiny dips in the light of stars, but it will focus more on those that are nearby and bright. This makes it easier for astronomers to follow up on any findings via other space and ground technologies.