The seven planets have been blasted by radiation for billions of years.
Several of the Earth-sized planets around red dwarf TRAPPIST-1 could host water after all. New Hubble observations of the star’s ultraviolet emission combined with the latest age estimates of the system suggest that the star has not baked all the planets dry.
TRAPPIST-1 caught the attention of exoplanet researchers earlier this year, when it was announced that it was home to seven Earth-sized planets. Three of these are in the habitable zone where water can persist on the surface as a liquid. Since then a slew of follow-up observations have been made of the entire system.
This story is from the October 2017 edition of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
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This story is from the October 2017 edition of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
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