“Unbelievable Transformation: Man’s Reckless Encounter with a Particle Accelerator Defies Science!”
Because TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star, NASA believes that the planets could also be “chunks of rock blasted by radiation or cloud-covered worlds as broiling hot at Venus.” It’s hard to tell from 39 million lightyears away.
This New Solar System Is Very Comparable to Our Own
What we do know is that this solar system is similar to the one we’re in now. With seven Earth-like planets, it would appear to be more hospitable than our own (only Earth supports life, but Mars comes close). The entire solar system is like a scaled-down version of the one we live in, and its compact size actually lends itself towards supporting life.
Unlike our sun, the star at the center of this universe is a small, cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. It’s about one-tenth of the size of our sun, and generates much less heat – which is a good thing!
If TRAPPIST-1 Was Like Our Sun, the Solar System Would Be Doomed
TRAPPIST-1 is the potential life-force behind the Earth-like planets found in this new solar system. If TRAPPIST-1 wasn’t a dwarf and was more similar to our own sun, there’d be a huge problem.
All of the planets in the new solar system closely orbit TRAPPIST-1. The planets circle so tightly that the closest takes a day and a half to complete its journey around the star, and the furthest takes about 20 days. If the star was any brighter or bigger, these planets would be absolutely fried like an egg.
