NASA has discovered 7 Earth-like planets orbiting a star

Astronomers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) have detected no less than seven roughly Earth-sized worlds orbiting a dwarf star in the system, it was announced today.

Life may have evolved on at least three planets within a newly discovered solar system that is 39 light years from Earth, it was announced last night.

Three of the new planets are said to be particularly promising because they could sustain oceans. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate, told a press conference in Washington: “This gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.”

Reddit NASA Scientist AMA Link

“The seven planets … could have some liquid water and maybe life on the surface.”

The star at the center of the solar system has a temperature of 2550K and is at least 500 million years old. In comparison, the Sun is about 4.6 billion years old and has a temperature of 5778K. The six inner planets lie in a temperate zone where surface temperatures range from zero to 100C.

The relative sizes of the planets and star, plus the system’s proximity, mean that plucking the signatures of living, breathing organisms from the planet’s atmospheres could be within reach.

NASA Link

Scientists are particularly intrigued by TRAPPIST-1f, the fifth rock from its star, and suggest that it could be in the sweetest of the spots where life could thrive.

Astronomers estimate there could be as many as 40 billion potentially habitable worlds in our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Goldilocks Zone comparison



This is awesome considering the first confirmed detection of exoplanets was announced in 1992, with two planets found orbiting a pulsar.



My favourite quote,

“If life managed to thrive and releases gases similar to what we have on Earth, then we will know,” Triaud says.

Edit: Jadestar if you had plans to do a thread on this I would gladly delete this so you could cover it as your contributions are more well informed and my favorite.

The cool thing is the size of the sun and the temperature at which it burns.

Being such a small star and the habitable zone being so close would force the earth like planets to orbit the Sun in like days as opposed to our 365.25.

very cool stuff

Excellent news.. thanks you.

And only 39 light years away, which in astronomical terms is basically our next door neighbour.

Wow, possible Earth like planets thousands of light years away one day, 39 light years away the next.

originally posted by: ThoughtIsMadness
The cool thing is the size of the sun and the temperature at which it burns.

Being such a small star and the habitable zone being so close would force the earth like planets to orbit the Sun in like days as opposed to our 365.25.

very cool stuff

4 seasons in one week.

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978

originally posted by: ThoughtIsMadness
The cool thing is the size of the sun and the temperature at which it burns.

Being such a small star and the habitable zone being so close would force the earth like planets to orbit the Sun in like days as opposed to our 365.25.

very cool stuff

4 seasons in one week.

Only if the planets are tilted.. although we do.get four seasons in one day here in blighty though..

wouldnt be shocked if the secret space program dropped in for a visit already

a reply to: Cobaltic1978

thats true but if you come to scotland you get 4 seasons in one hour.

a reply to: muSSang

Time to go!

Let's do it.

originally posted by: sparky31
a reply to: Cobaltic1978

thats true but if you come to scotland you get 4 seasons in one hour.

Well, 3 seasons in an hour - summer rarely happens

I hear music

a reply to: muSSang

Great infographics mussang, this is truly an incredible find and i believe a milestone in this project. I mean 7 earthlike planets in terms of mass, 3 of which are in the habitable zone!? Amazing.

Great News I think I'll claim (F) if you all agree? I will need a quiet vacation and planet F will do just fine. Oh now, how do I get there?

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: muSSang

Time to go!

Let's do it.

By the time we get there we will already have built a machine that will have got there and back x10...or we'll be extinct. my money's on extinct.

Great find OP.

39ly and there are already things like SpaceX and groups working on the EM drive, a president that is crazy enough to let rip with a meaningful space program.

Could be really exciting times ahead.

Interesting times ahead. Looks like we're about to head into a portal of dimentional intrigue.

originally posted by: Misterlondon

originally posted by: Cobaltic1978

originally posted by: ThoughtIsMadness
The cool thing is the size of the sun and the temperature at which it burns.

Being such a small star and the habitable zone being so close would force the earth like planets to orbit the Sun in like days as opposed to our 365.25.

very cool stuff

4 seasons in one week.

Only if the planets are tilted.. although we do.get four seasons in one day here in blighty though..

Not even then. They are so close to their sun that they always face it--just like our Moon. one side is always sunny; the other side is always dark.

originally posted by: SprocketUK
Great find OP.

a president that is crazy enough to let rip with a meaningful space program.

.

The only problem with that is Trump believes there really is a Starship Enterprise and a Millenium Falcon....it's true...he seen it on the telly.

a reply to: schuyler

Even if they are partially tidally locked (still spinning albeit slowly), the extremely short orbital periods and low ish flux of that star may make the planets fairly reasonable in terms of heating distribution, right?

If they are totally locked then id imagine the terminator areas would be the only viable zones for life, although we are already finding a lot of interesting extremophiles.