A SYSTEM of seven Earth-size planets around a single star is the first to be discovered by NASA that could hold liquid water.
The planets, known as exoplanets, because they are located outside of our solar system, were discovered by the Spitzer Space Telescope.
Three of the seven are within the habitable area around the star.
On NASA’s website a statement reads: “The discovery sets a new record for greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system. All of these seven planets could have liquid water – key to life as we know it – under the right atmospheric conditions, but the chances are highest with the three in the habitable zone.”“This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life. Answering the question ‘are we alone’ is a top science priority and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal,” said associate administrator of the agency’s science mission directorate in Washington, Thomas Zurbuchen.
"NASA called a press conference to announce that they've found seven new planets..." #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/WAbg3xmdQt
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) February 23, 2017
The planets are located about 40 light-years (235-trillion miles) away from our home planet in the Aquarius constellation.
This system is named TRAPPIST-1, after the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope in Chile.
“In May 2016, researchers using TRAPPIST announced they had discovered three planets in the system. Assisted by several ground-based telescopes, including the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, Spitzer confirmed the existence of two of these planets and discovered five additional ones, increasing the number of known planets in the system to seven.
NASA discovered 7 new planets that are all potentially inhabitable... so I'm adding travel to another planet to my bucket list
— Amymarie (@amymarieg) February 23, 2017
The new results were published Wednesday in the journal Nature, and announced at a news briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington.Using Spitzer data, the team precisely measured the sizes of the seven planets and developed first estimates of the masses of six of them, allowing their density to be estimated.
Based on their densities, all of the TRAPPIST-1 planets are likely to be rocky. Further observations will not only help determine whether they are rich in water, but also possibly reveal whether any could have liquid water on their surfaces. The mass of the seventh and farthest exoplanet has not yet been estimated. Scientists believe it could be an icy, ‘snowball-like’ world, but further observations are needed.
"NASA found seven planets that are similar to earth and three of them are most likely habitable" pic.twitter.com/v0SOkhjNsG
— Disney Reactions ✨ (@ThinkOfDisney) February 23, 2017
In contrast to our sun, the TRAPPIST-1 star – classified as an ultra-cool dwarf – is so cool that liquid water could survive on planets orbiting very close to it, closer than is possible on planets in our solar system. All seven of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary orbits are closer to their host star than Mercury is to our sun. The planets also are very close to each other. If a person was standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighbouring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth’s sky.
The planets may also be tidally locked to their star, which means the same side of the planet is always facing the star, therefore each side is either perpetual day or night. This could mean they have weather patterns totally unlike those on Earth, such as strong winds blowing from the day side to the night side, and extreme temperature changes,” read a statement on the agency’s website.
Lead author of the paper and principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey, Michael Gillon added: “The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star. It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds.”
Headline: "NASA has discovered 7 potentially habitable, Earth-sized planets."
— ✨👁✨ (@empathosa) February 23, 2017
Me: *disregarding the word 'potentially'* "✌️🌏" pic.twitter.com/wJr3bW3pxv
Manager of NASA’s Spitzer Science Centre at Caltech/IPAC, Sean Carey said this is the most exciting result he has seen in the 14 years of Spitzer operations. “Spitzer will follow up in the fall to further refine our understanding of these planets so that the James Webb Space Telescope can follow up. More observations of the system are sure to reveal more secrets.”
“Following up on the Spitzer discovery, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has initiated the screening of four of the planets, including the three inside the habitable zone. These observations aim to assess the presence of puffy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, typical for gaseous worlds like Neptune, around these planets.
That @NASA discovery is amazing, to think of all the stuff in the universe we don't know about yet. #TRAPPIST1
— Dan Richards (@GuitarmanDan) February 22, 2017
In May 2016, the Hubble team observed the two innermost planets, and found no evidence of such puffy atmospheres. This strengthened the case that the planets closest to the star are rocky in nature,” according to the NASA team.“The TRAPPIST-1 system provides one of the best opportunities in the next decade to study the atmospheres around Earth-size planets. NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope is also studying the TRAPPIST-1 system, making measurements of the star’s minuscule changes in brightness due to transiting planets. Operating as the K2 mission, the spacecraft’s observations will allow astronomers to refine the properties of the known planets, as well as search for additional planets in the system. The K2 observations conclude in early March and will be made available on the public archive,” said co-leader of the Hubble study and Space Telescope Science Institute astronomer, Nikole Lewis.
“Spitzer, Hubble, and Kepler will help astronomers plan for follow-up studies using NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, launching in 2018. With much greater sensitivity, Webb will be able to detect the chemical fingerprints of water, methane, oxygen, ozone, and other components of a planet’s atmosphere. Webb will also analyse the planets’ temperatures and surface pressures – key factors in assessing their habitability,” read the NASA statement.
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