Trousers

Three New Earth-Like Planets orbiting Star TRAPPIST 1 Might Be Our Best Bet For Finding Life

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• published: 02 May 2016
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The three Earth-like planets around the Star TRAPPIST-1 were discovered using transit method, only detection method currently available to us. The Transit method looks for dims in Star light as planets pass in front of it, the amount of dimming determines the size of the planet and location of the planet. Belgian astronomers discovered the three potentially habitable Earth-like planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star, named TRAPPIST-1, about 40 light-years from Earth. These are some of the smallest exoplanets ever discovered, with a radius only slightly bigger than Earth's, and they are the first planets discovered around an ultracool dwarf – a dim star not much bigger than Jupiter. Their results are published in Nature. The most exciting thing about this discovery, made by the Belgian TRAPPIST telescope as the planets passed in front of the star, is that these planets are close enough for us to study. Many of the other potentially habitable worlds we've found are much further away and around much brighter stars, making them more difficult to observe. “These are the first planets similar in size and temperature to Earth and Venus for which we can study the atmospheric composition in detail, and really constrain the surface conditions and habitability,” lead author Dr. Michaël Gillon from the University of Liège told IFLScience. At first glance, the system might not seem that promising. Two of the planets, TRAPPIST- 1b and c, have years lasting about 1.5 and 2.4 Earth days respectively, meaning they orbit very closely, while TRAPPIST-1d has a less well determined period in the range of 4.5 to 73 days. However, the star has a surface temperature of only 2,550 Kelvins (2,277°C / 4,130 °F ), so they are unlikely to be inferno worlds. Instead, they could be quite the opposite. The closest two planets receive no more than four times the amount of radiation received by Earth, while the furthest planet likely receives less. This puts the planets at the edges of the star's habitable zone, the region in which liquid water can exist. It's not certain if the planets are solid, but TRAPPIST-1 is rich in heavy elements, which indicates a suitable evironment for rocky planets to form. The planets have a radius of 1.11, 1.05, and 1.16 times that of Earth, which combined with their locations strongly indicates that these objects possess some of the right conditions for life. The planets’ temperatures could range from slightly higher than water’s boiling point to well below freezing. Tune used in this video is: Surfing Llama and artist name is Bird Creek. If you liked my video perhaps you might like my channel too, I create videos about Science & Technology, Space, Astronomy, Gameplay, Military technology and Environmental Architecture, Green and Eco news including latest on the photovoltaic, wind, solar and other renewable sources of energy such as Fusion Power. Please Subscribe if you like my videos, or press like. Please comment and if you have any question please ask, if I know the answer I'll try to Answer. You can also follow me on other sites. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mic_of_orion?... you can help me with a monthly donations here. Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76... Twitter: https://twitter.com/mic_orion Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/11216989747... Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/mic.orion Twitch : https://www.twitch.tv/micoforion