NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has released its most complete view of the night sky so far, revealing thousands of confirmed and potential exoplanets across the galaxy.
The newly released all-sky mosaic combines observations collected between April 2018 and September 2025, covering 96 sectors scanned by the mission during its operations and extended missions.
The image features nearly 6,000 colored markers representing confirmed and candidate exoplanets discovered by TESS. Blue dots indicate nearly 700 confirmed planets, while orange dots highlight more than 5,000 candidate planets still awaiting verification.
According to NASA, the discoveries include a wide range of worlds, from Mercury-sized rocky planets to gas giants larger than Jupiter. Some of the identified planets are located within habitable zones where liquid water could potentially exist.
Speaking about the mission’s progress, Rebekah Hounsell said, “Over the last 8 years, TESS has become a fire hose of exoplanet science.”
TESS observes large sections of the sky for nearly a month at a time using 4 onboard cameras. The spacecraft tracks changes in star brightness to identify possible planets orbiting distant stars.
The mosaic also captures major cosmic structures, including the glowing arc of the Milky Way galaxy at the center of the image. Visible in the lower-left region are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies located around 160,000 and 200,000 light-years away from Earth.
NASA scientists noted that TESS has contributed not only to exoplanet discoveries but also to research involving young stars, galactic activity, and near-Earth asteroids.
Allison Youngblood said, “As TESS fills in more of the night sky, there’s no knowing what it might see next.”
To date, scientists have confirmed more than 6,270 exoplanets through missions including TESS, the Kepler Space Telescope, and other astronomical observatories.
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