Kepler vs TESS
Space exploration has always been a fascinating field and has contributed a lot to our understanding of the universe. Space telescopes have played a significant role in this area, and in recent years, two telescopes that stand out are Kepler and TESS. In this blog post, we will compare Kepler and TESS, two NASA missions designed to observe different parts of our galaxy.
Kepler
Launched in March 2009, Kepler was a space observatory designed to study a small area of the Milky Way with the ultimate goal of determining the frequency of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. Kepler focused on a fixed area, measuring changes in brightness of over 150,000 stars, looking for transits of planets across their disks, and gathering data on the brightness, mass, size and orbit of planets.
Over its lifetime, Kepler discovered about 2,662 exoplanets, and its mission ended in October 2019. Kepler was an incredibly successful mission, which has revolutionized our understanding of exoplanets and their occurrence rates.
TESS
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) was tasked to find exoplanets orbiting bright and nearby stars. It was launched in April 2018 and is currently in its extended mission phase. TESS is surveying the entire sky for 27 days at a time, looking for the dimming of starlight caused by exoplanet transits.
TESS has increased the number of known exoplanets, including small rocky planets around nearby stars, making it the perfect follow-up mission after Kepler.
Comparison
| Mission | Kepler | TESS |
|---|---|---|
| Launch date | March 2009 | April 2018 |
| Area surveyed | 0.25% of the Milky Way | The entire sky |
| Stars observed | 150,000 | 700 million |
| Exoplanets discovered | 2,662 | 3,920 |
| Primary mission | Determine frequency of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone | Find exoplanets orbiting nearby and bright stars |
Conclusion
In summary, both Kepler and TESS missions represent a significant leap in our understanding of exoplanets. Kepler has been incredibly successful in discovering exoplanets from a fixed area, while TESS has taken over from where Kepler left off, searching the entire sky for new exoplanets. Together, these missions have massively increased our knowledge of planets outside our solar system, and there surely is a lot more to be discovered.
References: