{"id":13949,"date":"2017-02-22T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T18:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13949"},"modified":"2017-02-21T14:44:17","modified_gmt":"2017-02-21T19:44:17","slug":"13949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13949","title":{"rendered":"ESO: 7 Earth-sized worlds found in dwarf star system – 3 in habitable zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESO<\/a>\u00a0makes a big announcement about a dwarf star with lots of earth-sized planets:<\/p>\n

Ultracool Dwarf and the Seven Planets<\/a><\/strong>
\nTemperate Earth-sized Worlds Found in
\nExtraordinarily Rich Planetary System<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>
This artist\u2019s impression shows the view from the surface of one of the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system. At least seven planets orbit this ultra cool dwarf star 40 light-years from Earth and they are all roughly the same size as the Earth. They are at the right distances from their star for liquid water to exist on the surfaces of several of them. This artist\u2019s impression is based on the known physical parameters for the planets and stars seen, and uses a vast database of objects in the Universe. [Full size image<\/a>]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>Astronomers have found a system of seven Earth-sized planets just 40 light-years away. Using ground and space telescopes, including ESO\u2019s Very Large Telescope<\/a>, the planets were all detected as they passed in front of their parent star, the ultracool dwarf star known as TRAPPIST-1. According to the paper appearing today in the journal Nature, three of the planets lie in the habitable zone and could harbour oceans of water on their surfaces, increasing the possibility that the star system could play host to life. This system has both the largest number of Earth-sized planets yet found and the largest number of worlds that could support liquid water on their surfaces.<\/p>\n