TESS Detects Distant Super-Jupiter Using Gravitational Microlensing

NASA's TESS mission has identified an exoplanet for the first time using ripples in space-time, a method known as gravitational microlensing. The newly discovered world is a super-Jupiter orbiting far from its host star, unlike the close-orbiting planets TESS typically detects through the transit method. This marks a significant expansion of TESS's planet-hunting capabilities beyond its original design intent. The discovery demonstrates that the satellite can contribute to exoplanet science in ways scientists had not initially anticipated when it launched.