Numerous ‘Earth-sized’ exoplanets discovered orbiting a nearby star
At a press conference today, a Dutch-led international research team has announced the discovery of several Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting a star 40 light-years away. Three of those planets are in the habitable zone where conditions would be amenable to liquid water, raising the possibility that humans — or some other life form — could potentially inhabit them.
The research team used ground and space-based telescopes to observe TRAPPIST-1, a star 40 light-years away from our own solar system. Seven Earth-sized exoplanets orbit the star, and the six inner planets are rocky, with approximately the same mass and surface temperature as Earth. That represents a huge leap forwards in the search for habitable planets other than our own, and perhaps the search for other life.
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“This is the first time that so many planets of this kind are formed around the same star,” Michaël Gillon, one of the study’s co-authors, told Gizmodo. “[The planets] form a very complex system, [since] they’re all very close to each other and very close to the star, which is very reminiscent of the moons around Jupiter.”
The planets surrounding TRAPPIST-1 were comparatively easy for scientists to study, thanks to the cool nature of the star itself. TRAPPIST-1 is an “ultra-cool dwarf star,” more commonly known as a dim star. Studying the planets surrounding stars is most easily done by observing the transit of the planet across the surface of the star. Because TRAPPIST-1 is dimmer than other stars, it’s easier to observe the transit of the planets in front of the star.
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