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Since its discovery in 2017, the TRAPPIST-1 system has fascinated astronomers – and for good reason. The seven extraterrestrial planets that revolve around this little nearby star offer us an incredible opportunity to study a nearby solar system, both similar and very different from ours.
L & # 39; star
Located 39 light-years (or 235 trillion miles) from Earth, in the constellation Aquarius, this extraterrestrial solar system articulates around a red dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. TRAPPIST-1, classified as a dwarf star M, is much smaller than our sun – and about 2,000 times less bright, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.
In fact, TRAPPIST-1 is so small that it barely makes the star cut, note Phys.org. This tiny red dwarf weighs 9% of the sun's mass and about 12% of its radius – making it barely larger than the gas giant Jupiter.
The planets
The seven exoplanets that make up the system – named TRAPPIST-1b at TRAPPIST-1h – are all rocky planets the size of the Earth that have piqued the interest of astronomers and have become powerful candidates for the search for life beyond borders of our planet.
The immense appeal of the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets has increased exponentially since the discovery of three of these planets – TRAPPIST-1e, f and g – in orbit in the habitable zone of the star. This means that they are sitting close enough to their mother star so that surface temperatures allow the formation of liquid water – and potentially to give life a chance to evolve.
Artistic illustration of the seven planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system and the habitable zone of the star.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
One of these three planets in particular – namely TRAPPIST-1e – seems to have a great potential for liquid water accumulation on its surface. A new study published this month in the Astrophysical Journal TRAPPIST-1 has the best chance of being an "oceanic world similar to that of the earth" and stands out as "an excellent choice for further studies taking into account habitability".
World of water
According to the team that conducted the research, the seven exoplanets TRAPPIST-1 probably evolved in the same way as Venus. This means that the surface water or oceans that congregate on these planets would have evaporated soon after the birth of the system, creating a dense and uninhabitable atmosphere.
However, things may have been a bit different in the case of TRAPPIST-1e. The exoplanet has proven to be "the most likely of the seven to harbor liquid water on a temperate surface," reports Phys.org – quoting the University of Washington in Seattle, who conducted the investigation.
Artistic interpretation of the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
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Wikimedia Commons / Resized
This conclusion is based on a newly developed climate model of the TRAPPIST-1 system, which examines each of the seven exoplanets individually and integrates terrestrial climate and photochemistry models to gauge the atmospheres of these intriguing extraterrestrial worlds.
"We are modeling unknown atmospheres, not just assuming that the things we see in the solar system are like those of another star," said lead author Andrew Lincowski, a Ph.D. University of Washington.
As he points out, his team has been striving to determine the atmosphere of the TRAPPIST-1 planets, given the unique environmental conditions that characterize this system.
"It's a whole sequence of planets that can give us a glimpse of the evolution of these, especially around a star very different from ours, whose light differs. It's just a gold mine.
The concept of this artist shows what the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system can look like, based on available data on planetary diameters, masses and distances to the host star.
NASA / JPL-Caltech
A lot of oxygen in the atmosphere
As Lincowski explains, the same process that could have transformed TRAPPIST-1 exoplanets into Venus-like worlds, exhausting them from all surface water, could have enriched their atmosphere with a lot of oxygen.
The evolution of these planets is strongly related to a particular phase of the beginnings of the star, during which TRAPPIST-1 burned hotter and stronger than today – emitting ultraviolet radiation in the system. These violent explosions would have left the planets with little or no surface water, while impacting their atmosphere.
When water evaporates from the surface of a planet, ultraviolet light from the parent star divides the water molecules, which releases hydrogen from the atmosphere and leaves behind significant amounts of water. 'oxygen. Indeed, hydrogen is light enough to escape from the atmosphere and float beyond the gravitational pull of a planet, while oxygen over Heavy remains trapped inside.
"It could be possible if these planets initially had more water than Earth, Venus or Mars," Lincowski said.
"If the planet TRAPPIST-1 had not lost all its water during this phase, it could today be an aquatic world, completely covered by a global ocean. In this case, it could have a climate similar to the Earth. "
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