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Trappist 1-E and the Possibility of Life

Depiction of an Artist Rendition of the Trappist Exoplanet System

The Trappist 1 system is a collection of seven rocky worlds that orbit an ultra cool dwarf star which was named 2MASS J23062928-0502285 at the time of its discovery because of the telescope used. All of the worlds in Trappist 1 are Earth-like meaning it contains the same elements like iron, oxygen, magnesium, etc; however, it is assumed they are in different ratios because the masses of all seven are lighter than the mass of Earth. They are all likely to have liquid water, and the most Earth-like planet of this system is Trappist 1-E (the fourth planet from the central star).

My interest in this system mainly stems from my love for astrobiology – the study of life on other planets – because of the sheer amounts of evidence collected suggesting 1-E is like Earth. Trappist 1E lies in the habitable zone of its central star just like Earth does. Coupled with the fact that there’s liquid water, this means there is a possibility for life to survive with the right temperatures from the stars and evolve like microorganisms did millions of years ago on Earth.

This system was discovered rather recently, and it’s only around 40 light years away; so, it will be super interesting to see what we discover in the ever evolving realm of science!!

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One response to “Trappist 1-E and the Possibility of Life”

  1. this is a super interesting post! i had no idea that there were other worlds within the habitable zone. i’m curious if we have the technology or just capacity to figure out if there actually is life on these planets! thank you for introducing this topic and astrobiology in general, i really enjoyed reading this

    Like

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