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Astronomers find seven Earth-size planets where life is possible

By Irene Klotz

REUTERS

 

Space Telescope Science Institute astronomer Nikole Lewis uses a graphic to compare the size of Earth (bottom) with a recent discovery of an exoplanet, during a news conference to present new findings on exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than Earth's sun, in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - Astronomers have found a nearby solar system with seven Earth-sized planets, three of which circle their parent star at the right distance for liquid surface water, bolstering the prospect of discovering extraterrestrial life, research published on Wednesday showed.

 

The star, known as TRAPPIST-1, is a small, dim celestial body in the constellation Aquarius. It is located about 40 light years away from Earth, close by astronomical standards, but about 44 million years away at the average cruising speed of a commercial passenger jet.

 

Researchers said the proximity of the system, combined with the proportionally large size of its planets compared to the small star, make it a good target for follow-up studies. They hope to scan the planets' atmospheres for possible chemical fingerprints of life.

 

"The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” NASA chief scientist Thomas Zurbuchen said at a news conference on Wednesday.

 

The discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, builds on previous research showing three planets circling TRAPPIST-1. They are among more than 3,500 planets discovered beyond the solar system, or exoplanets.

 

"This is the first time that so many Earth-sized planets are found around the same star," lead researcher Michael Gillon, with the University of Liege in Belgium, told reporters.

 

Researchers have focused on finding Earth-sized rocky planets with the right temperatures so that water, if any exists, would be liquid, a condition believed to be necessary for life.

 

"I think that we've made a crucial step towards finding if there is life out there," University of Cambridge astronomer Amaury Triaud said on a conference call with media on Tuesday.

 

The diameter of TRAPPIST-1 is about 8 percent of the sun's size. That makes its Earth-sized planets appear large as they parade past.

 

From the vantage point of telescopes on Earth, the planets' motions regularly block out bits of the star's light. Scientists determined the system's architecture by studying these dips.

 

"The data is really clear and unambiguous," Triaud wrote in an email to Reuters.

 

Because TRAPPIST-1 is so small and cool, its so-called "habitable zone" is very close to the star. Three planets are properly positioned for liquid water, Gillon said.

 

"They form a very compact system," Gillon told reporters on Tuesday. "They could have some liquid water and maybe life."

 

Even if the planets do not have life now, it could evolve. TRAPPIST-1 is at least 500 million years old, but has an estimated lifespan of 10 trillion years. The sun, by comparison, is about halfway through its estimated 10-billion-year life.

 

In a few billion years, when the sun has run out of fuel and the solar system has ceased to exist, TRAPPIST-1 will still be an infant star, astronomer Ignas Snellen, with the Netherlands' Leiden Observatory, wrote in a related essay in Nature.

 

"It burns hydrogen so slowly that it will live for another 10 trillion years," he wrote, "which is arguably enough time for life to evolve."

 

(Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Letitia Stein and Tom Brown)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-23

[mania]

Nice Very cool

 

This is the type of space exploration/discovery that is fascinating & really this +

exploring the depths of our own oceans fully would be a much nicer use of funds than

military usage.

 

But for them to say "I think that we've made a crucial step towards finding if there is life out there,"

Is like stopping while walking on a beach..........

Bend over pickup a single grain of sand & proclaim this is the only sand on the beach

 

Of course there is life on more than one speck in a space that we cannot even fathom to measure

I hope we see more of this exploration in our lifetime

[Bung]

Quick,  get the Christian fundamentalists to shut down funding for this! 

[Bikeman93]

More details please.

How long would 100,000 baht last there?

Can I fly direct or do I have to go to Kulumpur first?

Do I pay extra for girl with 2 heads?

Can I buy a suit when I get there?

 

[PatOngo]

One of them is Planet Thailand!........an out of this world experience.

[daveAustin]

Mostly typical responses to important work from the 'learned' TV crowd. Well done!

[ddavidovsky]

It doesn't matter. The universe doesn't even exist in the way we think it does. The universe is nothing but logic playing itself out, even down to quantum level. That's the only explanation for the universe that works. The only one. I alone have discovered this and I have chosen this forum today to make the first official announcement of the discovery to the peoples of the Earth.

 

Put my Nobel in the post. I thank you.

[Panda13]

Humans. Always in a hurry to go from somewhere stupid to nowhere at all.

[elgordo38]

7 hours ago, Bung said:

Quick,  get the Christian fundamentalists to shut down funding for this! 

Cute a pick me upper with no hangover. 

Edited February 23, 2017 by elgordo38

[elgordo38]

For Stargazers only. I doubt if anytime soon we will blast off from planet earth for the stars. If and when it should ever become feasible while the earth is still viable the Buffett and Gates prodigy will be first in line and there will no room for others as their bags of money forget money gold will be taking up the extra seats. Paper money is fast becoming the thing that wallpaper is made of. 

[DM07]

This just fires up the imagination and that is, why it is important, to explore space (and the places on Earth, still barely explored).

It gives everyone something to dream about and to work on full filling that dream, one day!

[MRDave]

NASA already knows non-human life exists. They block UFOs on their live feeds on a daily basis.

[Banana7]

We should start planning a mission to Trappsit-1 solar system.

[iReason]

On February 23, 2017 at 6:47 AM, Bikeman93 said:

More details please.