This is not news of the existence of habitable planets there, or life-bearing ones, or even water worlds. It is news that the TRAPPIST-1 red dwarf system has at least three exoplanets of loosely (rather loosely, mind you) Earth’s mass orbiting the star at a distance where liquid water is possible. IF those planets have an atmosphere like Earth’s and IF there isn’t something else there to muck about with planetary conditions then MAYBE the place won’t be absolutely inimical to terrestrial life. The system is only five hundred million years old, so I wouldn’t expect Great Old Ones or Arisians living on it, either.
TRAPPIST-1 is about 29 light years away, for those who were wondering. Sounds like an excellent time for figuring out how to get around Einstein, once and for all? Now that we have an idea of where maybe to go, and all that.
Via Facebook.
Moe Lane
Going to Wiki to learn how the system got the name “TRAPPIST-1” in all caps, I’ve gained a new appreciation of the size of our own solar system, since the entirety of the TRAPPIST-1 system would fit inside Mercury’s orbit.
Ahh, those Belgians. They would name their big toy after their beer.
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What? It’s a monastic order? Yes. Known primarily for their beer. 😀