How NASA Found 7 New Earth Like Planets In a Solar System 40 Light Years Away



Detection of Trappist-1 ...At about 40 light-years (235 trillion miles) from Earth, the system of planets is relatively close to us, in the constellation Aquarius. Because they are located outside of our solar system, these planets are scientifically known as exoplanets. This exoplanet system is called TRAPPIST-1, named for The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) 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. 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. "The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star," said Michael Gillon, lead author of the paper and the principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey at the University of Liege, Belgium. "It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds." 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 neighboring 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. Spitzer, an infrared telescope that trails Earth as it orbits the sun, was well-suited for studying TRAPPIST-1 because the star glows brightest in infrared light, whose wavelengths are longer than the eye can see. In the fall of 2016, Spitzer observed TRAPPIST-1 nearly continuously for 500 hours. Spitzer is uniquely positioned in its orbit to observe enough crossing – transits – of the planets in front of the host star to reveal the complex architecture of the system. Engineers optimized Spitzer’s ability to observe transiting planets during Spitzer’s “warm mission,” which began after the spacecraft’s coolant ran out as planned after the first five years of operations. "This is the most exciting result I have seen in the 14 years of Spitzer operations," said Sean Carey, manager of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California. "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 at assessing the presence of puffy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, typical for gaseous worlds like Neptune, around these planets. In May 2016, the Hubble team observed the two innermost planets, and found no evidence for such puffy atmospheres. This strengthened the case that the planets closest to the star are rocky in nature.

Comments

  1. The heavens declare the glory of God's work. We don't know what is out there, but we do know that God is truly active in the universe. This discovery by NASA just once again proves intelligent design. Fantastic news.
  2. I call bullshit. They can find planets millions of miles away but can't find Isis or cure Earth's own problems?
  3. it says BLACK KNIGHT came from 6 th planet of seven. i think this is the place to check.
  4. hahahaha. CGI. lolll
  5. Page 146 of Ancient Mysteries explains the tipi top model and unfortunately omits the one force that rules this Earth action.  MAGNETISM.  A white dwarf magnetic field would cause the Earth to tip toward the visitor reversing N/S and to the same again as the dwarf left our system area.  So the only evidence would be a magma that was erupting at that exact same days/months or pottery glazes that were applied that same days/months WHICH WE DO HAVE. 
    Science is particularly vituperative against a magnetic basis as an explanation for our historical enigmas.  Such as the Early Copper Age collapse and its replacement with a less intelligent group.  Seems like that would spare them preparing giant Farraday cages to save the population over having hidey holes for a select few.  Oh well.  Such is Life.
  6. Hey guys I just discovered a new planet its called ur anus lol
  7. do you people really believe we are the only ones in an infinite universe???#duh.....
  8. trappist is beer :D
  9. so to go there in a hole year you net to travel 40 times the speed of light
  10. All planets are found shape are round like boll... fuckyah
  11. now here's what I think, if there is life on those planets, depending on how similair they are to earth, the more they will look like us. our bodies forms are made specifically to survive in our environments, animals bodies overtime change to survive better in their environments. so if one of those planets is really similar to ours, they may look very humanoid. I may be wrong, it's just a theory. Reply what you think :)
  12. What if there is life on one of these planets and they are just discovering us and are in just as much shock as we are
  13. Reminds me of the cartoon whereby we sent a message to said region and while the operator is VERY old he gets a reply saying please repeat we missed the message...
  14. Don't fall for this people, put your hope in the Lord.
  15. we humans almost destroy the Earth, know we start to destroy other planets ..
  16. 7 heavens 7 earths this is mentioned in the Quran
  17. NASA says they found 7 new earth like planets
    Everyone: "nice"

    Beyoncé announced that she will be having twins
    Everyone: OMG THIS IS AWESOME!!! LIFE HAS MEANING!!! THIS IS THE BIGGEST NEWS EVER!!!!
  18. Nibiru 🔭
  19. NASA finds twinkling star & gets science fiction writers & artists to justify their HUGE tax leaching budget.
  20. This is what Quran said about this 1500 year ago: " It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth)," Quran.


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