NASA announced Wednesday that it has discovered seven planets with qualities similar to Earth orbiting a star relatively close to our solar system.
This collection of exoplanets, meaning planets orbiting a star that is not our sun, are now some of the strongest candidates known to scientists for inhabiting extraterrestrial life.
At least three of the planets orbit within the so-called 鈥渉abitable zone鈥� of their home star; that is, they are located at the right distance for liquid water to collect on their surfaces.
However, all seven planets could harbor liquid water at least some of the time during their orbit.
The planetary system is called TRAPPIST-1 by NASA, named after for The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile. The small star at the center of TRAPPIST-1 is known as an 鈥渦ltra-cool dwarf鈥�.
Located inside the constellation Aquarius, the TRAPPIST-1 system is only 40 light years, or about 378 trillion kilometers (235 trillion miles), away from the Earth.
While this distance is much too far to visit with current spacecraft offerings, the system鈥檚 proximity opens many opportunities to study it afar with telescopes.
鈥淭his discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life,鈥� said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA鈥檚 Science Mission Directorate in D.C.
鈥淎nswering the question 鈥榓re we alone鈥� 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.鈥�
The seven exoplanets鈥� only known similarities to Earth are that they are most likely rocky and the right temperature for liquid water.
Beyond that, scientists still don鈥檛 know if they have other qualities necessary for life as we know it, like a hospitable atmosphere. Still, NASA and astronomers across the globe are remarkably excited about the discovery.
By Barry Eitel in San Francisco
Anadolu Agency
enerji@aa.com.tr
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