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. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Forthy light-years from Earth, scientists have discovered seven "Earth-sized planets" in the largest-ever cache of planets found around a single star outside of our solar system.

"The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. "You can just imagine how many worlds are out there that have a shot at becoming a habitable ecosystem that we can explore."

Three of the newly discovered planets are in what's known as the habitable zone, the area around a star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water, according to NASA. The Hubble Space Telescope has started to scan four of the planets, including the three found in the habitable zone.

The planets were found by astronomers using ground and space telescopes around an ultracool, red dwarf star named TRAPPIST-1, according to the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO).

The findings were published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature. The paper's lead author, astronomer Michael Gillon, described the planets as "the seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1."

"The energy output from dwarf stars like TRAPPIST-1 is much weaker than that of our sun," said Amaury Triaud, one of the co-authors of the Nature paper. "Planets would need to be in far closer orbits than we see in the solar system if there is to be surface water. Fortunately, it seems that this kind of compact configuration is just what we see around TRAPPIST-1."

Scientists characterized the discovery as a significant leap in the search for alien life during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

"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," Zurbuchen said.

The planets were spotted when scientists noticed dips in TRAPPIST-1's light output, according to ESO. The discovery was made using Spitzer, an infrared telescope that trails Earth as it orbits the sun, NASA officials said.

Astronomers determined that the dips were caused by the planets as they passed between the star and Spitzer.

The planets have been temporarily named with letters, TRAPPIST-1b through TRAPPIST-1h, in order of increasing distance from their parent star. </s> In what is surely the biggest news since the hunt for exoplanets began, NASA announced today the discovery of a system of seven exoplanets orbiting the nearby star of TRAPPIST-1. Discovered by a team of astronomers using data from the TRAPPIST telescope in Chile and the Spitzer Space Telescope, this find is especially exciting since all of these planets are believed to be Earth-sized and terrestrial (i.e. rocky).

But most exciting of all is the fact that three of these rocky exoplanets orbit within the star’s habitable zone (aka. “Goldilocks Zone”). This means, in effect, that these planets are capable of having liquid water on their surfaces and could therefore support life. As far as extra-solar planet discoveries go, this is without precedent, and the discovery heralds a new age in the search for life beyond our Solar System.

The team behind the discovery was led by Michael Gillon, an astronomer from the University of Liege in Belgium. Using the The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) La Silla Observatory in Chile, he and his colleagues first noticed the presence of two planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system in May of 2016.

The team made their observations of this star system – which is located about 39 light years from Earth in the direction of the Aquarius constellation – from September to December 2015. This discovery was immediately followed-up using several ground-based telescopes, which included including the ESO’s Very Large Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Data from these surveys confirmed the existence of the two planets, and revealed five more – making this the largest find around a single star in exoplanet-hunting history. Relying on the Spitzer data, Dr. Gillon and his team were also able to obtain precise information on the planets using the transit method. By measuring the periodic dips in TRAPPIST-1’s luminosity (from the planet’s passing in front of it), they were able to measure their sizes, masses and densities.

This is especially important when studying exoplanets. Not only does it allow scientists to make accurate assessments of a planet’s composition (i.e. whether or not its rocky, icy, or gaseous), it is key in determining whether or not a planet could be habitable. It was also the first time in which accurate constraints were placed upon the masses and radii of exoplanets using this method.

A follow-up survey was then mounted with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to study the three innermost planets and look for signs of hydrogen and helium – the chemical signatures that would indicate if the planets were gas giants. Hubble detected no evidence of hydrogen and helium atmospheres, which only strengthened the case for these planets being rocky in nature.

Another exciting aspect of all this is that these seven exoplanets – which are some of the best candidates for habitability – are near enough to Earth to be studies closely. As Michael Gillon, lead author of the paper and the principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey at the University of Liege, said in a NASA press release:

Nikole Lewis, the co-leader of the Hubble study and an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, was also on hand at the NASA press briefing where the findings were announced. There, she shared information that was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. And as she explained, of the three worlds that are in the habitable zone – TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g – all experience conditions that are very similar to what we experience here on Earth.

TRAPPIST-1e is the innermost of the three exoplanets. It is very close in size to Earth, and receives about the same amount of light as Earth does – which means temperatures are likely to be very close to Earth’s as well. TRAPPIST-1f, meanwhile, is a potentially-water rich world that is also likely to be the same size as Earth. It has a 9-day orbit, and receives about the same amount of sunlight as Mars.

The outermost of the habitable zone planets is Trappist 1g. With a radius that is 13% larger than that of Earth, it is the largest planet in the system, and receives about the same amount of light as a body positioned between Mars and the Asteroid Belt would. Between these three exoplanets, and the four others in the system, astronomers now have a multiple candidates within the same star system to study what potentially-habitable worlds might look like.

During the course of the NASA press briefing, Dr. Gillon stressed why the discovery of this system is a major boon for astronomers and planetary scientists. Not only is this the first time that so many exoplanets have been discovered around the same star, but the fact that it is a red dwarf – a class of small, cooler, dimmer stars – is especially encouraging.

Compared to other classes, red dwarfs (aka. M-class stars) are the most frequent type of star in the Universe – making up an estimated 70% of stars in our galaxy alone. On top of that, the TRAPPIST-1 system is rather unique. As Gillon explained, the planets are in close enough proximity that they gravitationally interact with one another. Their proximity would also make for some excellent viewing opportunities for a person standing on the surface of one of them.

“The planets are close enough to each other,” he said, “that if you were on the surface of one, you would have a wonderful view of the others. You would see them not as we see Venus or Mars from Earth (as bright stars), but as we see the Moon. They would be as large or larger than the Moon.”

In the coming weeks and months, NASA plans to follow-up on this system of planets even more. At the moment, the Kepler space telescope is studying the system, conducting measurements of minuscule changes in the star’s 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.

In the meantime, Dr. Gillon and his team will be using ground-based telescopes to search 1000 of the nearest ultra-cool dwarf stars to see if they too have multi-planet systems. Nikole Lewis indicated that Hubble will be conducting further observations of TRAPPIST-1 in order to obtain information about the planets’ atmospheres.

These studies will determine what gases make up the atmospheres, but will also be looking for tell-tale signs of those that indicate the presence of organic life – i.e. methane, ozone, oxygen, etc.

“The TRAPPIST-1 system provides one of the best opportunities in the next decade to study the atmospheres around Earth-size planets,” she said. “Not only will these studies let us know if any of these planets have the kind of atmospheres that are conducive to life, they will also tell us much about the formation and evolution processes of the surface – which are also key factors in determining habitability.”

The Spitzer Space Telescope will also be trained on this system in order to obtain follow-up information on the planets’ atmospheres. Besides looking for biological indicators (such as oxygen gas, ozone and methane), it will also be trying to determine the greenhouse gas content of the atmospheres – which will help put further constrains on the surface temperatures of the planets.

On top of that, next-generation missions – like the James Webb Telescope – are expected to play a vital role in learning more about this system. As Sara Seager – a professor of planetary science and physics at MIT – explained in the course of the briefing, the discovery of a system with multiple potentially-habitable planets was a giant, accelerated leap forward in the hunt for life beyond our Solar System.

“Goldilocks has several sisters,” as she put it. “An amazing system like this one lets us know there are many more life-bearing worlds out there. This star system is a veritable laboratory for studying stars orbiting very cool, very dim stars. We get to test many theories about these worlds, being tidally-locked and amount of radiation coming from host star.”

Thomas Zurbuchen – the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate – was also on hand at the briefing. In addition to expressing how this was a first for NASA and exoplanet-hunters everywhere, he also expressed how exciting it was in the context of searching for life beyond our Solar System:

By Matt Williams - 

 Matt Williams is the Curator of the Guide to Space for Universe Today, a regular contributor to HeroX, a science fiction author, and a Taekwon-Do instructor. He lives with his family on Vancouver Island in beautiful BC. </s> Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, a team of astronomers 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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Publication: Michaël Gillon, et al., “Seven temperate terrestrial planets around the nearby ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1,” Nature 542, 456–460 (23 February 2017) doi:10.1038/nature21360 </s> Finding a 'second Earth' may be just a matter of 'when' rather than 'if', suggest astronomers who discovered a new solar system of seven planets with the potential to host life located less than 40 light years away.

 

 The US space agency's Space Telescope found the first known system of seven Earth-sized planets around a single star.

Three of these planets are 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 the seven planets could have liquid water - key to life as we know it - under 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 at NASA'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," said Zurbuchen.At about 40 light-years - 235 trillion miles - from Earth, the system of planets is relatively close to us, in the constellation Aquarius.The 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, confirmed the existence of two of these planets and discovered five additional ones, increasing the number of known planets in the system to seven.Following up on the 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.The findings were published in the journal Nature. </s> NASA official says discovery gives hint that finding a second Earth is 'just a matter' of time.

A group of international scientists have announced that a dwarf star just 40 light years from the Earth has at least seven apparently rocky planets with potential to harbour water and life.

The discovery of the planets, which are all about the size of Earth or smaller, was announced at the NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, and published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

"Looking for life elsewhere, this system is probably our best bet as of today," said Brice-Olivier Demory, professor at the University of Bern's Centre for Space and Habitability and one of the authors of a paper on the planets around TRAPPIST-1, a small, ultracool star.

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The TRAPPIST-1's planets are similar to the inner solar system around Earth's sun, Demory's analysis of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope showed.

The discovery sets a new record for greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system, NASA said.

Like previous exoplanets - or planets beyond Earth's solar system - TRAPPIST-1's satellites were spotted when astronomers saw the planets "transit" the star, blocking some of the light captured by telescopes.

"The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when," said Thomas Zurbuchen, of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA.

"This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life," Zurbuchen added.

"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."

All seven planets are in orbits even closer than Mercury, the Sun's nearest planet, causing frequent transits and plentiful opportunities for observation and collection of data.

But because TRAPPIST-1 is so small and cool - about one-tenth the size and half the temperature of the sun - at least three of the planets could be cool enough for water and, possibly, life, despite their tight orbits.

They fall clearly within the so-called habitable zone. 

 

Further data used in the Nature paper was collected from several ground telescopes around the world.

Demory said that future telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope, which is to succeed the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, "will have the possibility to detect the signature of ozone if this molecule is present in the atmosphere of one of these planets".

He said that ozone "could be an indicator for biological activity on the planet", but cautioned that signs of life are difficult to assert from interstellar distances. </s> Here’s an artist’s depiction of the seven planets:

(NASA / JPL-Caltech)

The astronomers found the four newcomers by again measuring fluctuations in stellar light as the objects transited the parent star, revealing both their existence and information about their mass. Their findings suggest all seven are tidally locked, with one side perpetually facing TRAPPIST-1. (The habitable, water-friendly portion of each planet would likely be the ring between the hot, star-facing side and the cool, dark side.) The researchers estimate the orbital periods of the first six planets—the time they take to complete one loop around TRAPPIST-1—range between 1.5 and 12 days. The seventh planet made only one transit during the observations, so its orbit remains a mystery. The gravitational interactions between the six inner planets push them to orbit in a specific pattern around the star, a phenomenon known as a near-resonant chain. For example, for every eight orbits the innermost planet makes, the second makes exactly five. The system resembles Jupiter’s moons Ganymede, Europa, and Io, tidally locked objects that orbit in resonance, too.

TRAPPIST-1 and its septet of planets can’t be imaged directly, but that doesn’t matter much in the search for habitable planets. What’s needed is powerful telescopes capable of sweeping the system for biomarkers like oxygen and other exhalations of life. TRAPPIST-1 is a perfect target for star hunters like the James Webb Space Telescope, which in 2018 will begin scanning the skies from a vantage point of one million miles from Earth.

Until recently, red dwarfs were mostly overlooked in exoplanet exploration, but these ultracool stars seem to be proving skeptics wrong. Last August, astronomers using the European Southern Observatory in Chile discovered an Earth-sized planet orbiting in the temperate zone of Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf just four light-years away. In some ways their dimness is a boon for astronomers, as it makes it easier to see transiting objects and, potentially, signs of life on their surfaces. That’s good news, because red dwarfs are the most common kind of star in the Milky Way, accounting for more than three-fourths of the galaxy’s estimated 100 billion stars. There are likely many more systems like TRAPPIST-1, with plenty of Earth-sized planets.

The TRAPPIST-1 astronomers say they debated what a sunset may look on one of the tightly clustered planets. Despite its name, the red dwarf would emit a salmon hue, they decided, its darkest tones hidden in infrared, beyond the deepest red humans can see. The exoplanets could be frozen worlds, their icy crusts covered with cracks like the surface of Europa. Their terrain could carry the signs of water long gone, like channels carved by ancient floods on Mars. Or there could be water, lapping gently over rock beneath the salmon-colored sunset. And with luck, there might be something stirring underneath. </s> WASHINGTON — Astronomers have found at least seven Earth-like planets orbiting the same star 40 light-years away, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The findings were also announced at a news conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

This discovery outside of our solar system is rare because the planets have the winning combination of being similar in size to Earth and being all temperate, meaning they could have water on their surfaces and potentially support life.

“This is the first time that so many planets of this kind are found around the same star,” said Michaël Gillon, lead study author and astronomer at the University of Liège in Belgium.

The seven exoplanets were all found in tight formation around an ultracool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. Estimates of their mass also indicate that they are rocky planets, rather than being gaseous like Jupiter. Three planets are in the habitable zone of the star, known as TRAPPIST-1e, f and g, and may even have oceans on the surface.

The researchers believe that TRAPPIST-1f in particular is the best candidate for supporting life. It’s a bit cooler than Earth, but could be suitable with the right atmosphere and enough greenhouse gases.

If TRAPPIST-1 sounds familiar, that’s because these researchers announced the discovery of three initial planets orbiting the same star in May. The new research increased that number to seven planets total.

“I think we’ve made a crucial step towards finding if there is life out there,” said Amaury Triaud, one of the study authors and an astronomer at the University of Cambridge. “I don’t think any time before we had the right planets to discover and find out if there was (life). Here, if life managed to thrive and releases gases similar to what we have on Earth, we will know.”

Life may begin and evolve differently on other planets, so finding the gases that indicate life is key, the researchers added.

What we know

The planets are so close to each other and the star that there are seven of them within a space five times smaller than the distance from Mercury to our sun. This proximity allows the researchers to study the planets in depth as well, gaining insight about planetary systems other than our own.

Starting closest to the star and moving out, the planets have respective orbits from one and a half to nearly 13 Earth days. The orbit of the farthest planet is still unknown.

Standing on the surface of one of the planets, you would receive 200 times less light than you get from the sun, but you would still receive just as much energy to keep you warm since the star is so close. It would also afford some picturesque views, as the other planets would appear in the sky as big as the moon (or even twice as big).

On TRAPPIST-1f, the star would appear three times as big as the sun in our sky. And because of the red nature of the star, the light would be a salmon hue, the researchers speculate.

Based on preliminary climate modeling, the researchers believe that the three planets closest to the star may be too warm to support liquid water, while the outermost planet, TRAPPIST-1h, is probably too distant and cold to support water on the surface. But further observation is needed to know for sure.

How the discovery was made

TRAPPIST-1 barely classifies as a star at half the temperature and a tenth the mass of the sun. It is red, dim and just a bit larger than Jupiter. But these tiny ultracool dwarf stars are common in our galaxy.

They were largely overlooked until Gillon decided to study the space around one of these dwarves.

The researchers used a telescope called TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) to observe its starlight and changes in brightness. The team saw shadows, like little eclipses, periodically interrupting the steady pattern of starlight. This is called transiting. The shadows indicated planets, and further observation confirmed them.

In July, the team was able to determine that two of the closest planets to the stars had atmospheres that were more compact and comparable to those of Earth, Venus and Mars by observing starlight through the planets’ atmosphere.

By using a global network ground-based telescopes like TRAPPIST and space-based telescopes like Spitzer, the researchers continued looking toward the TRAPPIST system and were able to determine the orbital periods, distances from their star, radius and and masses of the planets.

Over the next decade, the researchers want to define the atmosphere of each planet, as well as to determine whether they truly do have liquid water on the surface and search for signs of life.

Although 40 light-years away doesn’t sound too far, it would take us millions of years to reach this star system. But from a research perspective, it’s a close opportunity and the best target to search for life beyond our solar system.

“If we learn something now, it can determine if we looked in the right place,” Gillon said.

In 2018, the James Webb Space Telescope will launch and be positioned 1 million miles from Earth with an unprecedented view of the universe. It can observe large exoplanets and detect starlight filtered through their atmosphere.

The researchers are also searching for similar star systems to conduct more atmospheric research. Four telescopes named SPECULOOS (Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars) based in Chile will survey the southern sky for this purpose.

This star system will probably outlive us because this type of star evolves so slowly. When our sun dies, TRAPPIST-1 will still be a young star and will live for another trillion years, Gillon said. After we are gone, if there is another part of the universe for life to carry on, it may be in the TRAPPIST-1 system. </s> Scientists have discovered 15 new planets, including a “super-Earth” that may have liquid water on its surface.

The planets are orbiting small, cool stars near our solar system that are known as “Red Dwarfs.”

One of the brightest Red Dwarfs, K2-155, has three “super-Earths,” one of which, K2-155d, could be within the star’s habitable zone. K2-155d, which has a radius 1.6 times that of Earth, may harbor liquid water, according to three-dimensional global climate simulations.

K2-155 is about 200 light years from Earth. A light year, which measures distance in space, equals 6 trillion miles.

The research also indicates that planets orbiting red dwarfs may be remarkably similar to planets orbiting stars that resemble the Sun, known as solar-type stars.

"It's important to note that the number of planets around red dwarfs is much smaller than the number around solar-type stars," said Teruyuki Hirano of Tokyo Institute of Technology's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, who led the research, in a statement. "Red dwarf systems, especially coolest red dwarfs, are just beginning to be investigated, so they are very exciting targets for future exoplanet research."

However, Hirano voiced caution about the conditions on K2-155d. "In our simulations, the atmosphere and the composition of the planet were assumed to be Earth-like, and there's no guarantee that this is the case,” he said.

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More research on K2-155d’s temperature and radius is needed to confirm whether the planet is indeed habitable.

Scientists based their research on data from K2, the second mission of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. Follow-up observations were made by the Subaru telescope in Hawaii and the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) in Spain.

The findings are published in two papers in The Astronomical Journal.

PLANETS IN GALAXIES BEYOND MILKY WAY SPOTTED FOR FIRST TIME

The find is the latest in a host of new planet discoveries. In February 2017, an international team of astronomers announced the discovery of 60 new planets orbiting stars close to Earth’s Solar System, including a rocky “super Earth.”

In the same month, NASA revealed the discovery of seven Earth-like planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 40 light years from Earth. Three of the planets are in the “habitable zone” where liquid water can exist, according to scientists.

Two months later, in a separate research project, scientists reported that an exoplanet 40 light-years from Earth may be the best place to look for signs of life outside our solar system.

Earlier this year, for the first time, scientists announced the discovery of planets in galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

Using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory, a team of astrophysicists from the University of Oklahoma identified the extragalactic planets about 3.8 billion light years away. The space observatory helped scientists find about 2,000 objects with comparable mass to the Moon and Jupiter. </s> Nasa will look for signs of life from a relative nearby planet after it was spotted by a brand new space telescope.

The world – the first nearby super-earth spotted by the brand new Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (Tess) spacecraft – is one of three newly found exoplanets.

The planet is known as GJ 357 d, and orbits a star around 31 light years away. It is close enough to that star to be in the “habitable zone”.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

In this region, it is possible for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet, although further research is needed to find out whether GJ 357 d’s atmosphere is dense and warm enough to host liquid water.

“GJ 357 d is located within the outer edge of its star’s habitable zone, where it receives about the same amount of stellar energy from its star as Mars does from the sun,” said Diana Kossakowski, from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, who co-authored the paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Shape Created with Sketch. Best Nasa pictures of the month - July 2019 Show all 10 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Best Nasa pictures of the month - July 2019 1/10 A total solar eclipse as seen from the US National Science Federation observatory in the Chilean Andes on 2 July NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth 2/10 A composite image of the Cygnus OB2 star cluster composed of pictures taken by the Isaac Newton Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope on July 24 NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Drake 3/10 The spacecraft Soyuz MS-13 is launched at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 20 NASA/Joel Kowsky 4/10 A copy of LIFE magazine from July 4 1969 signed by Michael Collins is seen onboard the Soyuz spacecraft NASA/Nick HAgue 5/10 The galaxy NGC 1156 which is said to resemble a cherry blossom tree. Captured by the Hubble Telescope on July 12 ESA/Hubble/NASA/R. Jansen 6/10 The spacecraft Soyuz MS-13 on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ahead of launch on July 20 NASA/Joel Kowsky 7/10 Earth is seen in the background as a robotic arm from the International Space Station is positioned for training activities on July 12 NASA Johnson 8/10 The galaxy NGC 2985, a classic example of a spiral galaxy. Captured by the Hubble Telescope on July 22 ESA/Hubble/NASA/L. Ho 9/10 The sun rises over Earth as captured from the International Space Station on July 15 NASA Johnson 10/10 The Namibian port town of Walvis is captured from 262 miles above on the International Space Station NASA Johnson 1/10 A total solar eclipse as seen from the US National Science Federation observatory in the Chilean Andes on 2 July NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth 2/10 A composite image of the Cygnus OB2 star cluster composed of pictures taken by the Isaac Newton Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope on July 24 NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Drake 3/10 The spacecraft Soyuz MS-13 is launched at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 20 NASA/Joel Kowsky 4/10 A copy of LIFE magazine from July 4 1969 signed by Michael Collins is seen onboard the Soyuz spacecraft NASA/Nick HAgue 5/10 The galaxy NGC 1156 which is said to resemble a cherry blossom tree. Captured by the Hubble Telescope on July 12 ESA/Hubble/NASA/R. Jansen 6/10 The spacecraft Soyuz MS-13 on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan ahead of launch on July 20 NASA/Joel Kowsky 7/10 Earth is seen in the background as a robotic arm from the International Space Station is positioned for training activities on July 12 NASA Johnson 8/10 The galaxy NGC 2985, a classic example of a spiral galaxy. Captured by the Hubble Telescope on July 22 ESA/Hubble/NASA/L. Ho 9/10 The sun rises over Earth as captured from the International Space Station on July 15 NASA Johnson 10/10 The Namibian port town of Walvis is captured from 262 miles above on the International Space Station NASA Johnson

“If the planet has a dense atmosphere, which will take future studies to determine, it could trap enough heat to warm the planet and allow liquid water on its surface.”

Lisa Kaltenegger, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University who published a separate paper in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, suggests the planet could harbour life.

“This is exciting, as this is humanity’s first nearby super-earth that could harbour life – uncovered with help from Tess, our small, mighty mission with a huge reach,” she said.

“With a thick atmosphere, the planet GJ 357 d could maintain liquid water on its surface like Earth and we could pick out signs of life with upcoming telescopes soon to be online.”

GJ 357 d orbits its star every 55.7 days at a range of about 20 per cent of Earth’s distance from the sun, it is claimed.

The three planets orbit a star known as GJ 357, an M-type dwarf, which is around 40 per cent cooler than our own sun and about a third of its mass and size.

Tess – Nasa technology used to discover exoplanets beyond our solar system – noticed the star dimming slightly every 3.9 days in February, a hint that planets were circulating around it.

The nearest of the three planets, GJ 357 b, is around 22 per cent larger than Earth, orbiting its star 11 times closer than Mercury does to the sun.

“We describe GJ 357 b as a ‘hot earth’,” said Enric Palle, an astrophysicist at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.

“Although it cannot host life, it is noteworthy as the third-nearest transiting exoplanet known to date and one of the best rocky planets we have for measuring the composition of any atmosphere it may possess.”

The middle planet, GJ 357 c, has a mass at least 3.4 times Earth’s, and orbits around its star every 9.1 days.

Additional reporting by Press Association
NASA and the European Southern Observatory announce the discovery of four new Earth-like planets in the Goldilocks zone of the star TRAPPIST-1, in addition to the three discovered there last year.