NASA's TESS Completes All-Sky Mosaic, Cataloging Nearly 6,000 Exoplanet Discoveries
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NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has released a complete all-sky mosaic, filling in observational gaps and marking the locations of nearly 6,000 confirmed or candidate exoplanets. The image, compiled from data collected between April 2018 and September 2025, includes worlds that may be volcanic, are being destroyed by their stars, or orbit two stars. This milestone concludes TESS's second extended mission and contributes to a total of over 6,270 exoplanets confirmed by scientists using various missions.
Facts First
- NASA's TESS mission has released a complete all-sky mosaic from observations between April 2018 and September 2025.
- The image plots nearly 6,000 colored dots representing 679 confirmed exoplanets and 5,165 candidate planets awaiting verification.
- Confirmed planets include diverse worlds such as those potentially covered by volcanoes or orbiting two stars.
- The mosaic includes views of the Milky Way and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are satellite galaxies of our own.
- The Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project allows the public to help analyze light data to search for new exoplanets.
What Happened
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has released a complete view of the starry sky by filling in gaps from previous observations. Researchers assembled an all-sky mosaic composed of 96 sectors observed between April 2018 and September 2025, marking the end of TESS's second extended mission. The image contains nearly 6,000 colored dots representing confirmed or candidate exoplanets identified by the mission as of September 2025. Blue dots mark the locations of 679 confirmed planets, while orange dots represent 5,165 candidates awaiting verification. The mosaic includes the glowing arc of the Milky Way plane and features the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies located 160,000 and 200,000 light-years away, respectively.
Why this Matters to You
This catalog of distant worlds expands humanity's map of the cosmos and directly fuels scientific discovery that you can participate in. Through the Planet Hunters TESS citizen science project, you can learn to analyze light data from stars to help identify new planets, contributing to a field once reserved for professional astronomers. The discovery of such a vast and diverse array of planets, including volcanic worlds and those orbiting two stars, continually refines our understanding of what kinds of planets are possible in the universe.
What's Next
The 5,165 candidate planets represented by orange dots in the mosaic await verification by scientists, which could significantly increase the tally of confirmed exoplanets. The TESS mission's extensive dataset will likely continue to be analyzed for years, potentially revealing more planetary discoveries. Public involvement through citizen science projects may accelerate the process of confirming these candidate worlds and could lead to unexpected finds.