NASA exoplanet-hunting spacecraft TESS reveals its most complete look at the night sky yet

This view of the whole sky was constructed from 96 TESS sectors. By Sept 2025, TESS had discovered 679 exoplanets (blue dots) and 5,165 candidates (orange dots). .

NASA's exoplanet-hunting spacecraft TESS, or Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, has released its most complete view of the sky over Earth — the map reveals the location of 6,000 potential worlds beyond the solar system.

The mix of possible and confirmed extra-solar planets, or exoplanets, were identified by the mission prior to Sept. 2025. That's the month that marked the conclusion of TESS's second mission extension. (The exoplanet-hunting spacecraft launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in April 2018.)