Seeking a new, Earth-sized planet that could potentially support life? How about seven?
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NASA has announced the presence of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting around TRAPPIST-1, an “ultracool dwarf star” 40 lightyears away from our planet. The agency announced the discoveries in a press conference at NASA Headquarters.
Three planets are in the “habitable zone,” which means they have the greatest chance of having liquid water on the surface. All seven could be potentially habitable, though. Using the masses of the planets, NASA estimates that they are likely to be largely rock, not gaseous. They’re calling the discovery a new record for the “greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system.”
These 7 Earth-sized planets were seen by @NASASpitzer around a nearby, ultra-cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1: https://t.co/G9tW3cJMnV pic.twitter.com/Z6gvaH96Tz
— NASA (@NASA) February 22, 2017
It’s not uncommon to find new planets, but it’s rare to find one that could have the conditions to support life, let alone seven. Their close proximity allows them all to support life simultaneously; the planets are so close that NASA says someone standing on the surface of one could realistically look up and see weather events happening on a neighboring world as it passes by at a distance smaller than the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
Though the seven planets are “relatively” close at 40 light years, it will be some time until we see the surface of them — that’s 235 trillion miles away.