‘First light’ science images from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) show a wealth of stars and other objects, including stellar systems previously known to have exoplanets.

“In a sea of stars brimming with new worlds, TESS is casting a wide net and will haul in a bounty of promising planets for further study,” said Dr. Paul Hertz, astrophysics division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“These first light science images show the capabilities of TESS’ cameras, and show that the mission will realize its incredible potential in our search for another Earth.”

TESS acquired the images using all four cameras during a 30-min period on August 7, 2018.

The images include parts of a dozen constellations, from Capricornus to Pictor, and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.

“This swath of the sky’s southern hemisphere includes more than a dozen stars we know have transiting planets based on previous studies from ground observatories,” said TESS principal investigator Dr. George Ricker, a researcher at MIT’s Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research.

TESS has also started observations requested through the TESS Guest Investigator Program, which allows the broader scientific community to conduct research using the satellite.

“We were very pleased with the number of guest investigator proposals we received, and we competitively selected programs for a wide range of science investigations, from studying distant active galaxies to asteroids in our own Solar System,” said TESS project scientist Dr. Padi Boyd, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

“And of course, lots of exciting exoplanet and star proposals as well.”

“The science community is chomping at the bit to see the amazing data that TESS will produce and the exciting science discoveries for exoplanets and beyond.”