Cheops satellite lifts off to study planets beyond solar system

Europe’s Cheops planet-hunting satellite has left Earth a day after its lift-off was delayed by a technical rocket glitch during the final countdown. A 30cm telescope aboard has been designed to measure the density, composition and size of numerous exoplanets, which orbit stars beyond our solar system. According to the European Space Agency (Esa), Cheops will observe bright stars that are already known to be orbited by planets. More

(Source: The Guardian - Dec 19)