On Wednesday, Feb. 22, scientists at NASA announced the discovery of seven planets orbiting a nearby star, TRAPPIST-1. Named after the telescope that discovered it, the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope, TRAPPIST-1, is located 40 light years away in the Aquarius constellation. It is an ultra-cool red dwarf star, which means that it is much smaller than the sun. Of the seven known planets orbiting it, three are located in the habitable zone, the just right distance from the sun at which a planet can have liquid water and hypothetically support life. Using data from several different telescopes, scientists are able to determine the size and mass of exoplanets, planets outside our solar system, and analysis of the TRAPPIST-1 system indicates that because of the calculated density of the planets, all of them appear to be terrestrial planets. That means that similar to Earth, and unlike Jupiter, the planets are small and rocky and may have the ability to support an atmosphere that can sustain life. However, since TRAPPIST-1 is so different from our sun, there are several differences that make its solar system different from ours. First, since TRAPPIST-1 is so small and cool, the planets orbit much closer to their star, and each other, than the planets in our solar system do. The entire TRAPPIST-1 solar system could actually fit within the orbit of Mercury. That means that from one planet, the others would like be visible in the sky, appearing larger than our moon. Furthermore, since the star is so different from the sun, the types of life there would probably be vastly different from what we know, making it difficult to discover them. However, scientists are extremely excited about the find because the TRAPPIST-1 system can be used to gain new insights into the study of exoplanet atmospheres.

One such scientist, Lynbrook’s own science research teacher Charles Vessalico says, “The discovery of the exoplanets in the Trappist-1 system has the potential to help us answer many questions about life on earth.  At only 40 light years away, the relatively close proximity of this system will allow scientists to study the atmosphere of these exoplanets which can provide insights into our own atmosphere and climate change. It may also provide humans with a target for future colonization and is going to be some of the most important objects for the new James Webb Space Telescope to look at in 2019. Finally, it may also allow us to test if scientific theories about the origins of life are true. If there is other life out there this looks like the most promising place for it.”.

A discovery such as the exoplanets of the TRAPPIST-1 system also incites curiosity concerning the existence of alien life. If there are planets so similar to Earth out there, then why would they not have life? But, if there is life, why have we yet to find evidence of it? On this paradoxical idea junior Zack Leder says, “Aliens are 100% real. I don’t think they will reach us anytime soon, but with a universe this big there must be other life out there.”

“The discovery of Earth-like planets is really important to learning more about the vast universe, and I hope that one day we will be able to encounter alien life,” adds sophomore Matt Venezia. Overall, the exoplanets are quite the discovery, and the fact that the planets are only 40 light years away opens up the idea of one day travelling there in a human lifetime, making interstellar travel and colonization seem more possible, albeit arduous, than ever.