In its first year of planet-hunting, NASA's TESS has discovered more than 20 planets and more than 900 new candidate planets.
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is only halfway through its goal of mapping our skies. The first year was spent looking for planets around the nearest and brightest stars in the southern hemisphere skies.
NASA scientists will detail more of TESS's findings Thursday morning.
Researchers say the planets near the closest, brightest stars will be the best to explore more thoroughly in future missions. Some of the stars TESS is exploring are visible with our own eyes, which means we could have seen these new planets for millions of years and didn't know it.
NASA said TESS can also tell us where the planets are, their size and overall temperature.
The first Earth-sized planet TESS discovered is about 90 percent the size of Earth and is 53 light-years away. The planet, HD 21749 c, is the second planet TESS found orbiting that star, which can be seen in the constellation Reticulum.
NASA said that Earth-size planet would not be a great place to live, seeing that its surface temperature could be up to 800 degrees. That would be like sitting in a commercial pizza oven.
Another planet discovered in the same star system, HD 21749 b, is about three times the size of Earth and orbits the star every 36 days. Scientists say this planet has the longest orbit of any planet within 100 light-years of our solar system.
NASA thinks the planet may be water-based or have a completely different atmosphere.
Most recently, TESS discovered a "piping hot planet" that could be about twice the size of Earth. The planet orbits the star GJ 357, which is about 40 percent cooler than our Sun.
That system containing that planet, and two others, is only 31 light-years away in the constellation Hydra.
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