![]() ![]() "Although this planet, HD 209458b, is certainly the most studied exoplanet ever, we had to wait 22 years for CHEOPS and its amazing precision and dedication to be able to measure the visible light reflected from its atmosphere," Benz says. Just earlier this year, the space telescope once again demonstrated its astounding precision by measuring the faint light reflected by a planet located 159 light years away in the constellation Pegasus. "By detecting a system with six planets, of which five orbit their star in a fragile harmony, CHEOPS has also given us glimpses into the formation of planetary systems," Ehrenreich says. "It feels amazing to celebrate what we have discovered in 1,000 days and discuss what we will do next."įindings include, for example, the characterization of blisteringly hot, iron-evaporating atmospheres on planets that are so close to their stars that they are deformed into rugby-ball shapes by the immense gravitational forces. "It is the first time in three years that we can finally get together," mission scientist David Ehrenreich and Professor of astronomy at the University of Geneva says. ![]() Now, for the first time since the launch of CHEOPS, all involved scientists can finally meet in Padua, Italy, from 12 to 14 September. The international scientific team has accomplished this despite not being able to meet physically to operate the instrument due to the pandemic. "The precise data we collected from CHEOPS has borne fruits: Over fifty scientific papers have been published or are in the process of being submitted by over a hundred scientists forming the CHEOPS Science Team and working at dozens of institutions all over Europe," reports Willy Benz, Professor Emeritus of astrophysics at the University of Bern and head of the CHEOPS consortium. In over 1 million of minutes of observation time, CHEOPS has revealed exoplanets from every angle: their night sides when they pass in front of their stars, their day sides when they pass behind their stars and all the phases in between, just like the moon. During this time, it has revealed the characteristics of numerous fascinating planets beyond our solar system (exoplanets) and has become a key instrument for astronomers in Europe and worldwide. Since its launch from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, on December 18, 2019, the CHEOPS telescope in Earth's orbit has demonstrated its functionality and precision beyond expectations. ![]()
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