Chris Weeks - Observations of Distant Worlds (2018)

A longform Ambient/Soundscape piece of escapism, inspired by the search for Exoplanets by the current NASA ‘TESS’ Mission.

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is an Explorer-class planet finder. In the first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey, TESS will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. The principal goal of the TESS mission is to detect small planets with bright host stars in the solar neighborhood, so that detailed characterizations of the planets and their atmospheres can be performed.

TESS will monitor the brightnesses of more than 200,000 stars during a two year mission, searching for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. Transits occur when a planet's orbit carries it directly in front of its parent star as viewed from Earth. TESS is expected to catalog more than 1,500 transiting exoplanet candidates, including a sample of ∼500 Earth-sized and ‘Super Earth’ planets, with radii less than twice that of the Earth. TESS will detect small rock-and-ice planets orbiting a diverse range of stellar types and covering a wide span of orbital periods, including rocky worlds in the habitable zones of their host stars.

Akin to my previous longform release, ‘Sleepwaves’, this piece was designed to zone out to. Imagine leaving Earth, searching the stars, drifting in deep space discovering Exoplanets. Being drawn into the powerful magnetic field of the massive ‘SIMP J01365663+0933473’; witnessing its spectacular auroras.