Publication Details

AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH

earth and planetary sciences

TESS Delivers Its First Earth-sized Planet and a Warm Sub-Neptune

Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 875, No. 2, Article L7, Year 2019

The future of exoplanet science is bright, as Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) once again demonstrates with the discovery of its longest-period confirmed planet to date. We hereby present HD 21749b (TOI 186.01), a sub-Neptune in a 36 day orbit around a bright (V = 8.1) nearby (16 pc) K4.5 dwarf. TESS measures HD 21749b to be R ⊕, and combined archival and follow-up precision radial velocity data put the mass of the planet at M ⊕. HD 21749b contributes to the TESS Level 1 Science Requirement of providing 50 transiting planets smaller than 4 R ⊕ with measured masses. Furthermore, we report the discovery of HD 21749c (TOI 186.02), the first Earth-sized () planet from TESS. The HD 21749 system is a prime target for comparative studies of planetary composition and architecture in multi-planet systems.

Statistics
Citations: 51
Authors: 51
Affiliations: 22
Identifiers
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study
Study Approach
Quantitative