Trappist 1 Exoplanets Could Have More Water Than Earth

The above image is compliments of NASA

The 2017 NASA discovery of 7 exoplanets surrounding the Red Dwarf star, Trappist 1 is stunning and recent information from scientists indicates that the exoplanets do not have massive amounts of hydrogen.  This based on a spectroscopic survey of the atmospheres on the exoplanets conducted by the Hubble space telescope.

This means that they are not gas giants like Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus.   Ruling out these types of planets is the first level of scrutiny in evaluating new worlds for signs of life.  As we understand life, it requires the following:

-planets need to be present and orbiting consistently within the habitable zone of a stable star
-planets need to be solid, with an stable atmosphere containing nitrogen and oxygen
-planets need to have water present 

So far, the 6 out of exoplanets of Trappist 1 satisfy 3 of the 4 criteria above.  All of the planets are closer to the Red Dwarf than Mercury is to our Sun, but the red star is not as hot as our Sun therefore NASA scientists believe it is possible for them to have water.

Trappist -1 is only 4 light years from Earth and further studies by the James Webb Telescope will provide more detailed information on the atmospheres of these exoplanets very soon.

As shown in the image below,  the entire Trappist-1 solar system can fit within the orbit of Mercury of our solar system.

Maddalena Environmental Inc.
Al Maddalena