There are many planets and star systems we are aware of. The Sun, our home star, is the only place that we know life exists. Many other planets have possibilities of holding life, but no other place has as big as a chance as the system Trappist-1 does. Trappist-1 is a star system that is 39 light years away from Earth. There are 7 planets we know of that orbit it, and possible more. It was discovered by TRAPPIST (TRAnsmitting Planets and Planetslmals Small Telescope. Other planets were discovered in this system using telescopes like the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Very Large Telescope, UKIRT, the Liverpool Telescope, and the William Herschel Telescope. All 7 planets are the size of Earth or Venus, and most are within the habitable zone of the star. The planets are also very close together, which means that if you are on one of the planets, you would be able to see the other planets.
http://www.trappist.one/videos/PIA21430.mp4 |