NASA’s TESS Mission & the Fight for Funding

In January, NASA’s TESS Mission for the first time observed a star being torn apart by black hole.

A study was published September 27th showing a simulation of the event.  

Experts at the University of Calgary say this shows the need for continued funding, which is at risk in the new Conservative budget plan.

TESS is a planet-finding satellite that observes one area for a month or longer to find stars that get dimmer as a planet passes in front of them.

The satellite happened to observe the interaction, which has excited scientists.

David Hobill, an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary, discussed black hole research and the importance of the finding.

“The technology has gotten to a point where we can actually now observe these things,” said Hobill.

“The star going around it and then being absorbed into it, that's an extremely rare event.”

Hobill talks about how the event was observed, as well as its importance.

“For this particular star that is being ripped apart, it's a star basically like our Sun, and that's why we can actually see it,” said Hobill.

“It is amazing that we actually saw this thing happening with a telescope that was not designed to see it.”

Robert Bell is a Master's student in the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Calgary. He also commented on the findings.

“TESS is a very special observational instrument,” said Bell

“TESS was able to observe the brightness of a black hole. A star got too close to its host black hole, which caused it to tear apart and heat up, which caused an incredible increase in brightness.”

Bell also says people should be more interested in the search for answers.

“The core of science is just being able to ask questions, and then do what you can to answer those questions,” said Bell.

Due to post-secondary budget cuts, science programs are having difficulty securing funding.

The effect of the cuts from the Conservative’s budget is not lost on Hobill.

“These things are very expensive. But it does shed light on some aspect about the universe that we never have seen,” said Hobill

“But then you have to convince people that this is worthwhile, right?”

Dr. Thomas Warren-Son Holoien from The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, connected to the TESS program, said the program shows funding should be more important.

“TESS has already been highly successful with its official mission to find exoplanets, but studies like this one and other recent work with supernovae that were observed by TESS show how it has many applications to other areas of astronomy as well,” said Holoien.

“So, in that sense, studies like this one are great for justifying costs and designing future space missions.”

The Conservative government proposed funding cuts for post-secondary schools to lower the provincial debt and redirect money to the energy sector.

TESS’s observations are another advancement for science. For some, this signifies the importance of continued funding. For others, it may not be convincing enough. Regardless, this is just one step towards answering some questions and creating more.