Michaël Gillon, the lead author of the journal and an exoplanet researcher at Belgium’s University of Leige, said “Before this, if you wanted to study terrestrial planets, we had only four of them and they were all in our solar system. Now we have seven Earth-sized planets to expand our understanding. Yes, we have the possibility to find water and life. But even if we don’t, whatever we find will be super-interesting.”
In the Habitable Zone
At 100°C, water begins to evaporate. At 125°C, protein and carbohydrate molecules and genetic material like DNA and RNA start to break down. If this newfound solar system had a star like our own, that’s certainly what would happen. Thankfully, all the planets revolve around a dwarf star.
Scientists believe that all seven planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system hold enough warmth and liquid water to support life. Three of those planets receive the same amount of heat as Venus, Earth, and Mars, putting them in the habitable zone. But are these planets really like Earth? Are there aliens waiting for us on a planet far, far away? There’s a whole lot more that goes into a planet being survivable than just warmth and water.
NASA Also Believes TRAPPIST-1’s System Could Harbor Exotic Lifeforms (Or Be a Total Bust)
NASA has set their hopes high for life in the TRAPPIST-1 solar system. In a piece published to their Expolanet Exploration blog, the organization wrote that the planets “could harbor exotic lifeforms, thriving under skies of ruddy twilight.” We do know for sure that it may be our best chance, but there are tons of ways it could totally go wrong.
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