ESOcast 96: Enana ultra-fría y los siete planetas
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Astronomers have discovered seven earth-sized planets
orbiting a tiny nearby star
at least three of the planets
could harbor oceans of water
making them possible homes for life
just 40 light-years from Earth
lies Trappist 1
it's a small dim red star
known as an ultracool dwarf
only slightly bigger than jupiter
in early 2016
astronomers using the small robotic Trappist telescope
found the first planets orbiting the star
with follow-up observations
a total of seven worlds
have now been identified in the system
astronomers discovered and learned about the planets orbiting Trappist 1
by studying tiny regular dips
in the star brightness
these are caused by the planets passing in front of it
and blocking some of its light
observations were made using telescopes around the world and in the space
including ESO Very Large Telescope in Chile
and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
The results?
the discovery of an amazing rich planetary system
with seven planets
having similar sizes and temperatures to the earth
and at least the innermost six are probably made of rock
although the planets orbit are very close to their parent star
it's low energy output
means that thee illumination levels they receive
are similar to Venus, Earth and Mars.
Climate models
suggest the innermost three
would be too hot for liquid water to exist
on anything more than a small fraction of their surfaces
and the most distant and coolest planet is expected to be an icy world
however three planets in the system
Trappist 1 E, F, and G
represent the holy grail for planet-hunting astronomers
as they orbit in the star's habitable zone
excitingly!
this could mean they harbor oceans of water on their surfaces.
This new discovery
makes the system a top target for future investigation.
With next generation of telescopes
such as ESO's European Extremely Large Telescope
and the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope
astronomers could observe signs of water
in the atmospheres of these planets.
The presence of life
also leaves unique chemical signals planet's atmosphere
which could possibly be detected on these nearby worlds.
Dwarf stars like Trappist 1 are very common in our galaxy
with the most expected to host Earth-sized planets
The search for life
may find success in a system just like this one!!