An artist's impression of what it might be like on a Trappist-1 planet. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Four of the seven planets in the Trappist-1 system are thought to be home to large amounts of water.
Earlier this year, NASA scientists announced the discovery of seven extrasolar planets in orbit around Trappist-1, a star situated approximately 40 light years away from the Earth.
It was the first time that such a large number of Earth-sized worlds had ever been found within a single solar system and there appeared to be a good chance that at least one of them could be habitable.
Fast-forward a few months and now, thanks to new data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have determined that in fact four of the system's outermost planets, including the three located with the star's habitable zone, are likely to harbor significant quantities of liquid water.
Determining exactly what kind of atmospheres these extrasolar worlds might have however will need to wait until after NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope launches next year.
Neat, when will I be able to move there? Then I can call myself a "Trappistrian" Though all that radiation sounds a bit nasty. And the "years" that only last for a few days would be weird. And the tidal locking might make things uncomfortable. On second thought can please not move there? Can I just vacation? In all seriousness that sounds like a very interesting little star and planetary system... would really like to know more about it and what might live there (if anything)
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