7 new Earth-like exoplanets discovered, NASA announces

Dark Sorrow

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Talk about lucky number seven. Astronomers have discovered not one, not two, but seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1.

What’s more, three of them are in the habitable zone— the happy place where liquid water can exist on the surface of rocky planets, as it’s not too hot or cold. (Although liquid water could potentially exist on any of the seven, NASA said, it likes the odds on those three best.) The space agency calls the discovery of the fascinating solar system record-breaking.

“The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said at a news conference announcing the discovery.

Zurbuchen called it a "major step forward" towards the goal of answering the very big question: Is there life on other worlds?

The discovery "is very promising for the search for life beyond our solar system,” Michael Gillon, astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium, added during the press conference.

This is the first time astronomers have found so many Earth-sized planets circling the same sun.
Since the seven planets orbit the star-- which is roughly 40 light years away-- fairly close to each other, the view from one planet would reveal other planets to look as big, if not bigger, than the way we see the moon from Earth.

“If you were on the surface of one of these planets, you would have a wonderful view [of] the other planets,” Gillon said, adding that they would be much more than just "dots of light" in the sky, as we see other planets, like Venus, from our home planet.

Expand / Contract

(NASA)


The three planets in the habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks Zone, are called TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g. Exoplanet “e” is about the same size as Earth and even gets around the same amount of star light as we do.

Scientists already knew of thousands of planets beyond our own solar system.

All told, the tally of confirmed exoplanets stood at 3,449 on Wednesday. But only a small number of discovered exoplanets meet the criteria for being possible Earths-- Earth-sized planets that are not too big, and in the habitable zone of a star.


While this discovery was made using the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of the most important instruments in the search for other planets is the Kepler Space Telescope, which is credited with 2,331 confirmed exoplanet discoveries. It uses a technique called the transit method, watching for a star to dim when a planet passes in front of the distant sun. About 74 percent of known exoplanets have been discovered using that method, according to NASA.

Exoplanet discoveries just keep coming.

Earlier this month, astronomers announced that they had evidence of perhaps as many as 114 new exoplanets; the data they used to find those came from Hawaii’s Keck Observatory, which made observations of over 1,600 stars for over two decades. One of those newly-discovered planets that has garnered attention is a hot, rocky “super Earth” called Gliese 411b.

Scientists have even discovered a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, aside from the sun. Called Proxima b, that planet is somewhat larger than our own planet and lies about four light years away— close by cosmic standards but still incredibly far away from a human perspective. (One light year— the distance light can travel in one Earth year— equals almost 6 trillion miles.) The important Proxima b discovery was announced last August.

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Dark Sorrow

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This illustration shows the possible surface of TRAPPIST-1f, one of the newly discovered planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. Scientists using the Spitzer Space Telescope and ground-based telescopes have discovered that there are seven Earth-size planets in the system.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech


NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water.

The discovery sets a new record for greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system. All of these seven planets could have liquid water – key to life as we know it – under the right atmospheric conditions, but the chances are highest with the three in the habitable zone.

“This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Answering the question ‘are we alone’ is a top science priority and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal.”

Seven Earth-sized planets have been observed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope around a tiny, nearby, ultra-cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. Three of these planets are firmly in the habitable zone.
Credits: NASA


The TRAPPIST-1 star, an ultra-cool dwarf, has seven Earth-size planets orbiting it. This artist's concept appeared on the cover of the journal Nature on Feb. 23, 2017.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

At about 40 light-years (235 trillion miles) from Earth, the system of planets is relatively close to us, in the constellation Aquarius. Because they are located outside of our solar system, these planets are scientifically known as exoplanets.

This exoplanet system is called TRAPPIST-1, named for The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile. In May 2016, researchers using TRAPPIST announced they had discovered three planets in the system. Assisted by several ground-based telescopes, including the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, Spitzer confirmed the existence of two of these planets and discovered five additional ones, increasing the number of known planets in the system to seven.

The new results were published Wednesday in the journal Nature, and announced at a news briefing at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Using Spitzer data, the team precisely measured the sizes of the seven planets and developed first estimates of the masses of six of them, allowing their density to be estimated.

Based on their densities, all of the TRAPPIST-1 planets are likely to be rocky. Further observations will not only help determine whether they are rich in water, but also possibly reveal whether any could have liquid water on their surfaces. The mass of the seventh and farthest exoplanet has not yet been estimated – scientists believe it could be an icy, "snowball-like" world, but further observations are needed.

"The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star," said Michael Gillon, lead author of the paper and the principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey at the University of Liege, Belgium. "It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds."


This artist's concept shows what each of the TRAPPIST-1 planets may look like, based on available data about their sizes, masses and orbital distances.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

In contrast to our sun, the TRAPPIST-1 star – classified as an ultra-cool dwarf – is so cool that liquid water could survive on planets orbiting very close to it, closer than is possible on planets in our solar system. All seven of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary orbits are closer to their host star than Mercury is to our sun. The planets also are very close to each other. If a person was standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighboring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth's sky.

The planets may also be tidally locked to their star, which means the same side of the planet is always facing the star, therefore each side is either perpetual day or night. This could mean they have weather patterns totally unlike those on Earth, such as strong winds blowing from the day side to the night side, and extreme temperature changes.

Spitzer, an infrared telescope that trails Earth as it orbits the sun, was well-suited for studying TRAPPIST-1 because the star glows brightest in infrared light, whose wavelengths are longer than the eye can see. In the fall of 2016, Spitzer observed TRAPPIST-1 nearly continuously for 500 hours. Spitzer is uniquely positioned in its orbit to observe enough crossing – transits – of the planets in front of the host star to reveal the complex architecture of the system. Engineers optimized Spitzer’s ability to observe transiting planets during Spitzer’s “warm mission,” which began after the spacecraft’s coolant ran out as planned after the first five years of operations.

"This is the most exciting result I have seen in the 14 years of Spitzer operations," said Sean Carey, manager of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, California. "Spitzer will follow up in the fall to further refine our understanding of these planets so that the James Webb Space Telescope can follow up. More observations of the system are sure to reveal more secrets.”

Following up on the Spitzer discovery, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has initiated the screening of four of the planets, including the three inside the habitable zone. These observations aim at assessing the presence of puffy, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, typical for gaseous worlds like Neptune, around these planets.

This 360-degree panorama depicts the surface of a newly detected planet, TRAPPIST 1-d, part of a seven planet system some 40 light years away. Explore this artist’s rendering of an alien world by moving the view using your mouse or your mobile device.
Credits: NASA

In May 2016, the Hubble team observed the two innermost planets, and found no evidence for such puffy atmospheres. This strengthened the case that the planets closest to the star are rocky in nature.

"The TRAPPIST-1 system provides one of the best opportunities in the next decade to study the atmospheres around Earth-size planets," said Nikole Lewis, co-leader of the Hubble study and astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space telescope also is studying the TRAPPIST-1 system, making measurements of the star's minuscule changes in brightness due to transiting planets. Operating as the K2 mission, the spacecraft's observations will allow astronomers to refine the properties of the known planets, as well as search for additional planets in the system. The K2 observations conclude in early March and will be made available on the public archive.


This poster imagines what a trip to TRAPPIST-1e might be like.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Spitzer, Hubble, and Kepler will help astronomers plan for follow-up studies using NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, launching in 2018. With much greater sensitivity, Webb will be able to detect the chemical fingerprints of water, methane, oxygen, ozone, and other components of a planet's atmosphere. Webb also will analyze planets' temperatures and surface pressures – key factors in assessing their habitability.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center, at Caltech, in Pasadena, California. Spacecraft operations are based at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Littleton, Colorado. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at Caltech/IPAC. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.
 

Krusty

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Question for everyone. Do you think existence of alien life is possible? Or do you think earth is alone in having intelligent life. I am very specific about intelligent life. Offourse the level of intelligence varies, so let's stick to Capability of asking the question "are we alone in this universe?"'
 

Mikesingh

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Question for everyone. Do you think existence of alien life is possible? Or do you think earth is alone in having intelligent life. I am very specific about intelligent life. Offourse the level of intelligence varies, so let's stick to Capability of asking the question "are we alone in this universe?"'
Unfortunately, there is no solid proof that aliens exist…unless a UFO with aliens lands on the White House lawns and says to the security guard, ”Take me to your leader”!

But remember, there are trillions of galaxies in this universe each with billions of planetary star systems. Even if 1% of this gargantuan number has a planet in the Goldilocks zone (meaning an ideal orbit around the sun like our own Earth, suitably located for having the ingredients for potential life to exist) then that would mean billions of planets that could harbor life. Out of these, even if a fraction of such planets had advanced intelligent life, then there could be more advanced civilizations partying around the universe than all the grains of sand on earth!!

The universe as per scientific theory is about 15 billion years old. Our own Solar System came into being just about 3.5 billion years ago. There naturally would be star systems that came into existence millions if not billions of years before the formation of the Solar System. What does that mean? There could therefore be extremely advanced cultures millions of years ahead of us in technology which would seem magic to us. And for them, roaming the universe would be like taking a walk in the park!

Then there’s the Kardashev scale which was originally designed in 1964 by the Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev (who was looking for signs of extraterrestrial life within cosmic signals). It has 3 base classes, each with an energy disposal level: Type I (10¹⁶W), Type II (10²⁶W), and Type III (10³⁶W).

A Type I designation is given to species who have been able to harness all the energy that is available from their star, gathering and storing it to meet the energy demands of a growing population. This means that we would need to boost our current energy production over 100,000 times to reach this status!

However, being able to harness all Earth’s energy would also mean that we could have control over all natural forces. Human beings could then control volcanoes, the weather, and even earthquakes! (At least, that is the idea.) These kinds of feats are hard to believe, but compared to the advances of Type II and Type III civilizations, these are just basic and primitive levels of control (it’s absolutely nothing compared to the capabilities of societies with higher rankings).

Other astronomers have extended the scale to Type IV (10⁴⁶W) and Type V (the energy available to this kind of civilization would equal that of all energy available in not just our universe, but in all universes and in all time-lines). These additions consider both energy access as well as the amount of knowledge and hyper advanced technology these civilizations have access to. A point to ponder is whether the quasars we have discovered are actually space engineering being done by a Type III civilization?

Sorry to burst the bubble, but we Earthlings are not even at level 0.1 in the Kardashev scale!! Achieving a Type I status would probably take us a few thousand years more!

So, could they have visited earth some time in the past or even visiting us at present? That would remain a million dollar question until they land on the White house lawn as I mentioned earlier!!
 

GTM900

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Nice but we would need a ship equipped with Alcubierre drive to get there.
 

Mikesingh

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Nice but we would need a ship equipped with Alcubierre drive to get there.
Yes. Probably when we graduate to a Type 1 civilization!

Here's what an advanced Type 1 civilization would look like...(Click on image).



And what would a Type II or Type III civilization look like? That's beyond one's imagination! And what about a Type IV? Like the abode of the Gods perhaps!
 

Nicky G

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Question for everyone. Do you think existence of alien life is possible? Or do you think earth is alone in having intelligent life. I am very specific about intelligent life. Offourse the level of intelligence varies, so let's stick to Capability of asking the question "are we alone in this universe?"'
I'd say it's not only highly unlikely but it also seems monumentally aggorant to think we alone are intelligent emouh to contemplate about our existence in this universe / multiverse that we know so little about.

In fact, I'd say there is a good chance that the earth has been visited in the past. A lot of ancient civilizations hit at travelrs from outer space.

No one in authority will come out and admit it or get taken seriously anyway. So we'll have to wait until it is revealed.
 

Krusty

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Yes. Probably when we graduate to a Type 1 civilization!

Here's what an advanced Type 1 civilization would look like...(Click on image).



And what would a Type II or Type III civilization look like? That's beyond one's imagination! And what about a Type IV? Like the abode of the Gods perhaps!
I don't think we will ever reach even type 1. I think the human civilisation will destroy itself Long LONG before it even reached type 1. I think you were talking about the Drake equation in your answer. Nice insight though!

I think it's impossible that our (observable) universe doesn't have intelligent life apart from ourselves. But unfortunately, the distances involved are mindbogglingly vast and The human race probably won't survive Long enough get to know the truth.

P.S: Asgard is type 4 (probably) :)
 

Krusty

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I'd say it's not only highly unlikely but it also seems monumentally aggorant to think we alone are intelligent emouh to contemplate about our existence in this universe / multiverse that we know so little about.

In fact, I'd say there is a good chance that the earth has been visited in the past. A lot of ancient civilizations hit at travelrs from outer space.

No one in authority will come out and admit it or get taken seriously anyway. So we'll have to wait until it is revealed.
SETI already informed US congress categorically that they have plenty of evidence that other intelligent lives exists. and congress laughed it off. But I'm sure Organisations at the forefront of space explorations have their secrets.

http://www.collective-evolution.com...xtraterrestrial-life-exists-without-question/

Check this guy out. NASA scientist and Princeton professor went on the record and Lew the whistle. But got near zero media coverage in the US.

 

Nicky G

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SETI already informed US congress categorically that they have plenty of evidence that other intelligent lives exists. and congress laughed it off. But I'm sure Organisations at the forefront of space explorations have their secrets.

http://www.collective-evolution.com...xtraterrestrial-life-exists-without-question/

Check this guy out. NASA scientist and Princeton professor went on the record and Lew the whistle. But got near zero media coverage in the US.

I am familiar with those and other cases. If I recall correctly, we have had politicians from countries like Japan and Canada come out and state that some UFOs are not earthly; however, thanks to Hollywood, our natural instinct is to laugh it all off.

Frankly, I don't see what evidence could ever prove that there are real aliens. There will always be the suspicion that it's nothing but advanced human technology.
 

karthikaqpt

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The Search Engine Google is showing an Animated Doodle for celebrating the Discovery of the Seven Earth-size Exoplanets.

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone

This exoplanet system is called TRAPPIST-1

And liquid water could exist on any of the seven planets given the right conditions. TRAPPIST-1 system is located around 40 light years away i-e 235 trillion miles away. In space terms, that practically makes us next-door neighbors!

 

Razor

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Wait a minute. Haven't they been discovering Earth-like planets for a while now. Okay they found 7 around a star. But is that something to get too worked up over.
I mean, NASA even annouced a few days back that they were going to reveal a great discovery. And it turned out to be this; I thought they were gonna announce that reptilians in fact do rule us.
:yawn:
 
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Razor

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Question for everyone. Do you think existence of alien life is possible? Or do you think earth is alone in having intelligent life. I am very specific about intelligent life. Offourse the level of intelligence varies, so let's stick to Capability of asking the question "are we alone in this universe?"'
The probability is close to 1.0 (one,) considering the vastness of the uni/multiverse. But if they ever find us they are going to FUBAR us royally. As Stephen Hawking suggested, we'd be more like the native americans in the US or the native Siberians in Russian siberia, reduced to near-extinction, if not extinction-level numbers.
 

alphacentury

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Earth is flat you guys. NASA(Not A Space Agency) is fake and all its claim are fake. Its all a jewish(hollywood) conspiracy, to delegitimize us, to make all us mushriks and in end control us. They say when we pray/bow to mecca, we dont really bow in direction of mecca due to earth's curvature. Such nonsense shouldnt be taken seriously.

What actually happened:

PeeDeeffff
 

alphacentury

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Poor jokes aside, What I think of this subject is, realistically speaking we can never go that distance or any other habitable planetary system we have discovered so far. At least not by current the laws of physics. Unless there is like a higher mental state attainable(telepathy?) like that of rushi munis, where you can connect to anyone or travel and be any place anywhere mentally. I dont know what I am talking,rly. But, even all that concept of space-time wrap, and how to cut through it or blackhole, all these are assumptions, right. We know nothing concrete yet. We know very little about our own neighborhood and almost zero control or knowledge over it. Think about it, if we were to send a group human mission to say saturn, in next 30-50 years, how scary would it be. Just like how it was thousand of years ago, when humans were starting to explore. No control what so ever. Just pure fate and the compulsion to explore. I think all this news of discovery some lightyears away will be irrelevant for many hundred years to come. But, what we should focus on is our own solar system, for resources/energy etc. Our solar system anyway is very interesting and we barely know anything about it.

Tagging @OneGrimPilgrim , I bet he thinks aliens live here on earth with us.
jk
 

Razor

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Poor jokes aside, What I think of this subject is, realistically speaking we can never go that distance or any other habitable planetary system we have discovered so far. At least not by current the laws of physics. Unless there is like a higher mental state attainable(telepathy?) like that of rushi munis, where you can connect to anyone or travel and be any place anywhere mentally. I dont know what I am talking,rly. But, even all that concept of space-time wrap, and how to cut through it or blackhole, all these are assumptions, right. We know nothing concrete yet. We know very little about our own neighborhood and almost zero control or knowledge over it. Think about it, if we were to send a group human mission to say saturn, in next 30-50 years, how scary would it be. Just like how it was thousand of years ago, when humans were starting to explore. No control what so ever. Just pure fate and the compulsion to explore. I think all this news of discovery some lightyears away will be irrelevant for many hundred years to come. But, what we should focus on is our own solar system, for resources/energy etc. Our solar system anyway is very interesting and we barely know anything about it.

Tagging @OneGrimPilgrim , I bet he thinks aliens live here on earth with us.
jk
One thing about our system here, that should really interest us, is when the next asteroid is going to bury us all. The last one was quite a while ago, we're due, at present.
 

Brood Father

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Actually if you look in our solar system , we also had life on Venus and Mars , but due to some astronomical events, life in those planets were anhilated
We are still not sure that if there is any complex life in Saturn's moon Europa which is believed to have water in form of ice .

Sure it is a very astounding discovery and if you calculate 300 LY is not much of a distance in astonomical scale
Let's hope for the best

On a lighter note below is the news from NDTV
Huge setback for Modi and RSS as there is no Modi wave in all the 7 planets discovered
 

Brood Father

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One thing about our system here, that should really interest us, is when the next asteroid is going to bury us all. The last one was quite a while ago, we're due, at present.
Actually asteroids are not a major cause of worry becuase current technology gives us spectrum of.ways to tackle such events

However the global warming is the major threat and in times to come can cause serious concern
History of Earth has been very violent and 5 times life on Earth had came to near extinction and Permian extinction was worst , over 90 percent of species died and all becuase of global warming due to strange reason , that period is also called as great dying and it took millions of years for earth to recover it's impact
This time we are again in same direction
Hope we find new home before earth becomes inhospitable
 

Krusty

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The probability is close to 1.0 (one,) considering the vastness of the uni/multiverse. But if they ever find us they are going to FUBAR us royally. As Stephen Hawking suggested, we'd be more like the native americans in the US or the native Siberians in Russian siberia, reduced to near-extinction, if not extinction-level numbers.
Point seconded. The scenario of a Super intelligent species observing us and using us as labrats comes a close second for me.

OT, have you tried the game mass effect? It's plot runs along similar lines with an alpha race showing up to the galaxy every 100000 after life evolves to wipe everything out and perform a 'reset'.

Damn we need an astronomy/cosmology/astrobiology thread
 

Krusty

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Wait a minute. Haven't they been discovering Earth-like planets for a while now. Okay they found 7 around a star. But is that something to get too worked up over.
I mean, NASA even annouced a few days back that they were going to reveal a great discovery. And it turned out to be this; I thought they were gonna announce that reptilians in fact do rule us.
:yawn:
Well this is exciting news for those who are interested in astronomy :) . Because even though the number of confirmed exoplanets so far is over 3500 (most of which are single planets orbiting a star) and over 600 of them were multiple planetary systems, this is the first time 7 earth sized planets orbiting the same star with 3 of them in the so called 'goldilocks zone'.

Besides, if NASA found out there was an overlord species, you think they'd just tell us?​
 

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