NASA TESS Maps Nearly 6,000 Exoplanets in 96-Sector All-Sky Mosaic
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · May 13
NASA TESS Maps Nearly 6,000 Exoplanets in 96-Sector All-Sky Mosaic
4 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · May 13
Nearly 6,000 confirmed or candidate exoplanets appear in NASA TESS’s most complete star-sky view yet, a new all-sky mosaic that fills gaps left by earlier observations.
The image combines 96 sky sectors observed from April 2018 to September 2025, with TESS staring at each sector for about a month using four cameras.
Those long observations track brightness dips in tens of thousands of stars, the signal TESS uses to spot planets orbiting beyond the solar system.
Eight years into the mission, TESS has found worlds ranging from Mercury-like planets to bodies larger than Jupiter, including some in habitable zones where liquid water may be possible.
TESS provided a map of thousands of new worlds. How will powerful new telescopes decide which ones to check for signs of life?
With AI revealing thousands of exoplanet candidates, can technology overcome the bottleneck in confirming which of these worlds are actually real?
How are discoveries of 'impossible' planets forcing scientists to rewrite the fundamental rules of how solar systems are born?
Mapping 6,278 Exoplanets: TESS’s 2025 All-Sky Survey, AI Breakthroughs, and the Future Search for Life
Overview
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has transformed exoplanet science by conducting extensive observations and generating a vast dataset. In September 2025, TESS released a comprehensive all-sky exoplanet mosaic, offering an unprecedented visual map of exoplanets across the night sky. Scientists are continuously exploring this large dataset using automated algorithms, which has led to many surprising discoveries. TESS’s contributions go beyond finding new planets, as its data also reveal diverse astronomical phenomena. This ongoing exploration highlights TESS’s vital role in expanding our understanding of the universe.