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- NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has recently discovered a new planetary system. It has been named as TOI 270.
- TOI 270 is about 73 light years away from Earth, and is located in the constellation Pictor.
- The members of the planetary system include a dwarf star (TOI 270), which is 40% smaller than the Sun in size and mass, and the three planets or exoplanets (planets outside the solar system).
- The exoplanets have been named TOI 270 b, TOI 270 c, and TOI 270 d. TOI 270 b is the innermost planet.
- TOI 270 c and TOI 270 d are Neptune-like planets because their compositions are dominated by gases rather than rock.
- The three planets orbit the star every 3.4 days, 5.7 days, and 11.4 days respectively.
- Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is an all-sky survey mission that seeks to discover exoplanets around nearby bright stars. It was launched in April 2018, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.