Scientists find 7 Earth-like planets orbiting nearby ultracool star
This artist’s conception shows what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system may look like, based on available data about their diameters, masses and distances from the host star. All the exoplanets in this system exist in the so-called habitable zone and are Earthlike in size and mass. Photo by @nasa/JPL-Caltech
BY NSIKAN AKPAN
Skip 39 light-years across our galaxy, and you’ll arrive at Trappist-1, an ultracool dwarf star with a band of special followers. This dim star hosts seven Earth-like planets within its habitable zone, according to a study published today in the journal Nature. Exoplanets are a dime a dozen these days, but due to unique properties in this exosolar system, the new discovery may usher in a movement in the hunt for habitable worlds — one where astrophysicists can ascertain the presence of life without traveling across the cosmos.
“It’s the first time so many Earth-type planets [have been found] formed in the habitable zone of a star,” Michaël Gillon, an astrophysicist at Université de Liège in Belgium and study co-author, said during a press briefing Tuesday.
By “habitable,” Gillon means the exoplanets exist in a temperature zone that’s conducive for liquid water even though these Earth sisters orbit relatively close to a dwarf star. If magically transplanted, all seven Earth sisters would land within the distance between Venus and our Sun. The closest sister is 1.02 million miles from Trappist-1 — a third of the distance separating Mercury from our blazing star.
Yet every planet in this hepta-Earth system may support liquid water, due to the star’s ultracool, low-radiation dwarf status. Trappist-1 is also approximately a tenth the size and mass of our sun. Researchers plan to capitalize on this star’s diminutive nature to discover if these planets are habitable.
“We will be able to study the climates and chemical composition of the atmospheres,” Cambridge University astronomer and study co-author Amaury Triaud said Tuesday during a press briefing. “Within a few years, we’ll know a lot more about these planets, and with hope, if there is life there maybe within a decade.”
Whoa! That’s a huge claim. Learn why Triaud can make it, even though they haven’t found signs of life yet, by reading more on our website.
Imagine standing on the surface of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1f. This artist’s concept is one interpretation of what it could look like. Photo by @nasa/JPL-Caltech
