Tag: CHEOPS
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CHEOPS discovers exoplanet triggering explosive flares on host star
Using the European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanets Satellite (CHEOPS) telescope, a team of astronomers has discovered an exoplanet that may be triggering its host star to release massive flares of radiation. These flares are similar to the coronal mass ejection our Sun produces, and the harsh radiation emitted from the flares is slowly blowing away…
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New research from ESA’s CHEOPS observatory reveals rugby ball shape of strange exoplanet
Exoplanets all over the universe come in different sizes, compositions, colors, and temperatures. However, they typically don’t come in different shapes, as nearly every single planet ever discovered is thought to be spherical in shape — except for one. New data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Characterising Exoplanets Satellite (CHEOPS) space observatory, as well…
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TESS reveals triple-binary eclipsing star system & Sun-like star with extremely close exoplanets
The first-discovered triple-binary sextuple star system and a Sun-like star with five exoplanets orbiting within the distance of Mercury are just two recent examples of the extraordinary systems being investigated and discovered by scientist using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS. The joint NASA-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) mission is the cornerstone…
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Soyuz launches Italian radar satellite, ESA exoplanet telescope
A Soyuz ST-A rocket lifted off at 0854:20 (3:54:20 a.m. EST) Wednesday from the Guiana Space Center in South America. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG A package of five satellites, including an Italian radar reconnaissance craft and a European Space Agency exoplanet science probe, soared into orbit Wednesday from French Guiana aboard…
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Live coverage: Soyuz launches from French Guiana
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana with the first COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG 1, radar surveillance satellite for ASI, the Italian space agency. The European Space Agency’s Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite, or CHEOPS, will fly as a secondary payload on the mission, along with three CubeSats. Text…
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Timeline of Soyuz launch with CSG 1 and CHEOPS
Follow the key events of the Soyuz ST-A rocket’s ascent into orbit from the Guiana Space Center with the first COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation, or CSG 1, radar observation satellite, the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS exoplanet telescope, and three CubeSats. A listing of exact times for the flight’s major events is posted below. Data source: Arianespace…
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ESA satellite set for launch to measure sizes of exoplanets
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Dec. 17 after the first launch attempt was scrubbed. Artist’s illustration of the CHEOPS spacecraft observing an exoplanet transiting in front of its parent star. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab A compact exoplanet observatory built in Europe to help astronomers determine the sizes of distant worlds around other stars is scheduled for launch Wednesday from…
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Egyptian satellite, ESA science probe share plane ride to launch base
These photos show the loading of Egypt’s TIBA 1 communications satellite (left) and the European Space Agency’s CHEOPS scientific satellite (right) on an Antonov An-124 cargo plane at Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France for transport to Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: Airbus Defense and Space/P. Masclet/Master Films A European-built communications satellite, manufactured in secret for the Egyptian…
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ESA exoplanet hunter CHEOPS set to depart Spain for pre-launch testing
The CHEOPS (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) spacecraft has completed integration work at Airbus’ Madrid-Barajas site and is now set to be shipped around Europe for testing. This spacecraft will be the first mission dedicated to searching for exoplanetary transits by performing ultra-high precision photometry on bright stars already known to host planets. Nearly eight years ago, CHEOPS was selected…
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Italian radar satellite, European exoplanet telescope to launch on Soyuz next year
File photo of a Soyuz launch from French Guiana in 2015. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin The Italian government has decided to launch two next-generation radar reconnaissance satellites on Soyuz and Vega rockets from French Guiana, and a European Space Agency telescope to study the structures of planets around…