TOI 270

July 31, 2019

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a dwarf star and the planetary system by the name of TOI 270.

About: 

  • What is it? TOI 270 is the name of the dwarf star and the planetary system recently discovered by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). 

  • Location: TOI 270 is about 73 light years away from Earth, and is located in the constellation Pictor.

  • Members of the planetary system: Its members include the –
    • Dwarf star named TOI 270, which is 40 % smaller than the Sun in size and mass, and

    • three exoplanets (planets outside the solar system) that have been named TOI 270 b, TOI 270 c, and TOI 270 d. These three planets orbit the star every 3.4 days, 5.7 days, and 11.4 days respectively.



  • Features of these exoplanets:
    • In this system, TOI 270 b is the innermost planet. Researchers expect it to be a rocky world about 25 % bigger than Earth. It is not habitable since it is located too close to the star — about 13 times closer than our Solar System’s Mercury is from the Sun.

    • On the other hand, TOI 270 c and TOI 270 d are Neptune-like planets because their compositions are dominated by gases rather than rock.