7 Earth sized planets found orbiting the nearby st...

Martin-O2 · ‎23-02-2017

Hi everyone,

Exciting news from deep space this week! NASA has discovered 7 earth sized exoplanets around a nearby star. At 39 light years Trappist-1 is practically next door as far as interstellar distances go. The star is tiny compared to our sun and is about the size of Jupiter but hosts an impressive 7 planets all similar in size and composition to earth.

Due to the small size of the star all the planets orbit closer them Mercury does to our own star but 3 of the 7 planets are at the right distance where water could form if the atmospheric conditions are suitable.

We will have to wait for the next generation of space telescopes to get a good analysis of the planets atmospheres for signs of life but a very interesting time for space buffs!

More info

→ COVID-19 support - Help and support from O2 during the lockdown
→ Access for You: Registration - Find out how to register for our Access for You service.
→ Just joined the community or thinking of registering? Check out this handy starter guide!
→ Have a query about your account? login to My O2 for help

If you'd like to take part, why not register?

Marjo · ‎24-02-2017

Ah so this is what the NASA press conference was about then. I saw they were having one but didn't have time to check it out yet.

Maybe one day we'll be travelling to one of these planets! Well, the future generations at least.

O2

7 Earth sized planets found orbiting the nearby star