TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has found a new planet, and the discovery of this sub-Neptune exoplanet has scientists excited about atmospheres.

The combination of the planet’s size, its thick atmosphere, and its orbit around a small M-class star close to Earth provides researchers with an opportunity to learn more about exoplanet atmospheres.

Even TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite), probably our most adept planet-finder, has an observation bias.

This makes it a great target for the study of exoplanet atmospheres because it’s in front of its star longer and can be more easily studied.

Since TOI-1231 b spends so much time in front of its star relative to other TESS planets, missions like the JWST will get a much better look at it.

Its size relative to its star also helps.

Since the star is so small, the planet blocks out more of its light than if the planet and star were more similar to Earth and the Sun.

The planet is a lot closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun.

“TOI-1231 b is one of the only other planets we know of in a similar size and temperature range, so future observations of this new planet will let us determine just how common (or rare) it is for water clouds to form around these temperate worlds,” said Burt.

TOI-1231 b’s characteristics and relationship with its star are similar to another star named GJ-436 and its planet GJ-436 b.

There are some downright weird planets out there, at least compared to Earth.

But this one is more similar to Earth than all the Hot Jupiters we’ve found, and while it’s still different, it at least might teach us something about our own Solar System and the planets that reside there.

“They’re full of planets between the size of Earth and Neptune on orbits much shorter than Mercury’s, so we don’t have any local examples to compare them to!

Compared to most transiting planets detected thus far, which often have scorching temperatures in the many hundreds or thousands of degrees, TOI-1231 b is positively frigid.”.