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posted by on Thursday February 23 2017, @01:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the tentatively-named-Doc-Grumpy-Happy-Sleepy-Bashful-Sneezy-and-Dopey dept.

Astronomers have observed enough planetary transits to confirm the existence of seven "Earth-sized" exoplanets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool (~2550 K) red dwarf star about 39.5 light years away. Three of the exoplanets are located inside the "habitable zone" of their parent star. These three orbit from 0.028 to 0.045 AU away from the star:

Astronomers using the TRAPPIST–South telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory, the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal and the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope, as well as other telescopes around the world, have now confirmed the existence of at least seven small planets orbiting the cool red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. All the planets, labelled TRAPPIST-1b, c, d, e, f, g and h in order of increasing distance from their parent star, have sizes similar to Earth.

The exoplanets are presumed to be tidally locked. The six closest to TRAPPIST-1 have been determined to be rocky, while the seventh, TRAPPIST-1h, requires additional observations to determine its characteristics due to its longer orbital period.

Mass estimates for the planets range from 0.41 Earth masses (M) to 1.38 M. Radii range from 0.76 Earth radii (R) to 1.13 R.

Spitzer, Hubble, and other telescopes will continue to make observations of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, but the best data will likely come from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is scheduled to launch in late 2018. JWST will allow the atmospheres and temperatures of many exoplanets to be characterized, which will help to settle whether the "habitable zones" of red dwarf stars are actually hospitable.

Artist illustrations and data for the TRAPPIST-1 system compared to Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Earth.

Here's a website dedicated to the star.

Seven temperate terrestrial planets around the nearby ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 (DOI: 10.1038/nature21360) (DX)


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by inertnet on Thursday February 23 2017, @04:06PM

    by inertnet (4071) on Thursday February 23 2017, @04:06PM (#470741) Journal

    I don't know if many Americans will get the references here. Belgians are involved in this project. Trappist is a kind of beer in Belgium, hop is an ingredient.

    Actually trappist refers to the monks that brew the beer, so it's not really a kind of beer. Belgium still has many kinds of beer, whereas in most countries just a few big brands are left.

    My first thought when I read the news yesterday was that they're really looking for liquid beer instead of water on those planets. It would make them more habitable for Belgian people.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 23 2017, @05:34PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 23 2017, @05:34PM (#470781)

    I'm a bit few countries south from Belgium, and I've never heard of Trappist beer. My first (and only) association was... Trappist cheese. [wikipedia.org]

    Those Trappist monks seem to be quite awesome.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 23 2017, @06:35PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 23 2017, @06:35PM (#470813)

      Trappist Ale. Vow of silence. And everyone knows there is no such country as Belgium. Belgium does not exist! [zapatopi.net]

    • (Score: 2) by inertnet on Thursday February 23 2017, @08:26PM

      by inertnet (4071) on Thursday February 23 2017, @08:26PM (#470877) Journal

      If you can get your hands on it, try Westmalle Tripel. One of the best trappist beers in the world in my opinion. But be moderate, it has 9 to 10% alcohol. And don't pour the beer dregs (if any) into your glass, so you have to pour it gently.