1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,962 ♪ Narrator: NASA’s TESS and Spitzer observatories have found a long-sought world 2 00:00:03,962 --> 00:00:08,216 orbiting the star AU Microscopii, or AU Mic for short. 3 00:00:08,216 --> 00:00:10,468 Located about 32 light-years away, 4 00:00:10,468 --> 00:00:15,724 the system will be a touchstone for understanding planetary evolution for decades to come. 5 00:00:15,724 --> 00:00:20,979 AU Mic is a red dwarf star at least 150 times younger than our Sun. 6 00:00:20,979 --> 00:00:25,650 It’s so young that a vast disk of dust and icy grains still surrounds it. 7 00:00:25,650 --> 00:00:27,819 The planet, AU Mic b, 8 00:00:27,819 --> 00:00:32,782 orbits very close to its star within a central zone where the disk material is cleared away. 9 00:00:32,782 --> 00:00:40,457 TESS data show the newly discovered planet is about 8% larger than Neptune, with no more than about 3.4 times its mass. 10 00:00:40,457 --> 00:00:46,921 TESS finds worlds like AU Mic b by catching tiny, regular dips in starlight called transits. 11 00:00:46,921 --> 00:00:53,094 Spitzer, now decommissioned, confirmed the transits during its final year of operations. 12 00:00:53,094 --> 00:00:56,306 The planet’s host star is very young. 13 00:00:56,306 --> 00:01:01,728 Flares and other phenomena also alter its brightness, which complicated the search. 14 00:01:01,728 --> 00:01:06,775 In order to find AU Mic b, the science team had to remove these effects from the data. 15 00:01:06,775 --> 00:01:11,112 ♪ 16 00:01:11,112 --> 00:01:16,659 AU Mic is a nearby laboratory for studying how stars and planets form and evolve. 17 00:01:16,659 --> 00:01:23,875 Studying AU Mic b with future missions will also tell us more about the development and evolution of planetary atmospheres. 18 00:01:23,875 --> 00:01:27,712 Until then, TESS will continue to hunt for more mysterious worlds… 19 00:01:27,712 --> 00:01:31,633 …including possibly others orbiting AU Mic. 20 00:01:31,633 --> 00:01:36,262 On-screen text: EXPLORE SOLAR SYSTEM & BEYOND 21 00:01:36,262 --> 00:01:40,016 On-screen: NASA logo