##Finding Planets - TESS
In April 2018, NASA launched a telescope called TESS: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. Its mission is to find exoplanets.
It searches for these planets not by looking for the planet itself, but by looking for changes in light signals.
If a light signal from a star to TESS has a repetitive, temporary reduction in the light, there may be a chance the block is caused by an exoplanet. These events, knows as transits, warrant further investigation to determine whether or not an exoplanet is there.
According to NASA, Tess will survey the entire sky over the space of two years.
Finding Planets wants to create a community that helps NASA to prioritise the data: for star-gazers to turn into star-chasers.
- There's a whole lot of space out there. TESS gives back a LOT of data. NASA needs help: which areas should they prioritise in the search for exoplanets??
- Many people have an interest in outer space and are intruiged by it. But they have been put off from participating because they are not a scientist. They want to know: Is there a way a regular Joe like me can pursue my fascination with outer space, feel closer to cool things like NASA, without having a PhD in astrophysics??
- Educated adults are becoming increasingly aware that heavy use of social media can be harmful. They don't want to idly scroll through their feeds anymore. They want their pasttimes to have purpose. They want to know: Tell me there's something more interesting I can do with my phone that isn't vacuous and vain..?
- A community filled with people who are interested in space. They want their pasttimes to have a purpose. To turn their passive internet scrolling into active star hunting.
- Volunteers who are trained in how to spot transits. They will help NASA to sift through all of the data coming back from TESS, and help prioritise which areas of space to investigate.
- Using the power of the crowd to streamline the process of identifying and prioritising huge amounts of data, and vast swathes of space.
- Lambda Students - educated young adults mostly aged between 18 - 30. Their educational background may have a small amount of science, but they haven't pursued it at college/university.
- Laypeople who have an interest in planets and outer space. They haven't looked into how they personally could contribute towards research because the technical language is confusing and intimidating. They have always been fascinated by the outer space, but have never pursued it as a hobby.
Marketing site with mobile screen width features About Us page linking to team members
Finding Planets turns star-gazers into star-chasers. We use the experienced, keen eye of the crowd to find the most probable, most credible sites for exoplanets.
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