Researchers using NASA’s TESS satellite have discovered two rocky exoplanets in a system in our cosmic backyard, located just 33 light-years from Earth.
Researchers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have discovered two rocky exoplanets in a system in our cosmic backyard, located just 33 light-years from Earth. These are some of the closest rocky planets discovered to date, orbiting around a small, cool star called HD 260655. The two planets are of a type called a super-Earth, at 1.2 and 1.5 times the size of our planet, but they aren’t habitable as they orbit close to their star and have high surface temperatures. According to NASA the nearest planet to the star, called HD 260655 b, has a surface temperature estimated at 816 degrees Fahrenheit (435 Celsius), while its companion HD 260655 c is estimated to have a temperature of 543 Fahrenheit (284 Celsius).
