Astronomy:TRAPPIST-1

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TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool red dwarf star[lower-alpha 1] with seven known planets. It lies in the constellation Aquarius approximately 40.66 light-years away from Earth, and it has a surface temperature of about 2,566 K (2,290 °C; 4,160 °F). Its radius is slightly larger than Jupiter's and it has a mass of about 9% of the Sun. It is estimated to be 7.6 billion years old, making it older than the Solar System. The discovery of the star was first published in 2000.

Observations in 2016 from TRAPPIST–South (Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope project) at La Silla Observatory in Chile and other telescopes led to the discovery of two terrestrial planets in orbit around TRAPPIST-1. In 2017, further analysis of the original observations identified five more terrestrial planets. The seven planets take between 1.5 and 19 days to orbit the star in circular orbits. They are all likely tidally locked to TRAPPIST-1, and it is believed that each planet is in permanent day on one side and permanent night on the other. Their masses are comparable to that of Earth and they all lie in the same plane; seen from Earth, they pass in front of the star. This placement allowed the planets to be detected: when they pass in front of the star, its apparent magnitude dims.

Up to four of the planets—designated d, e, f, and g—orbit at distances where temperatures are likely suitable for the existence of liquid water, and are thus potentially hospitable to life. There is no evidence of an atmosphere on any of the planets, and observations of TRAPPIST-1b have in particular ruled out the existence of an atmosphere. It is unclear whether radiation emissions from TRAPPIST-1 would allow for such atmospheres. The planets have low densities; they may consist of large amounts of volatile material. Due to the possibility of several of the planets being habitable, the system has drawn interest from researchers and has appeared in popular culture.

Discovery

The star known as TRAPPIST-1 was discovered in 1999 by astronomer John Gizis and colleagues[2] during a survey of close-by ultra-cool dwarf stars.[3][4] It appeared in sample C[2][3] of the surveyed stars, which was obtained in June 1999. Publication of the discovery took place in 2000.[5] TRAPPIST-1 is named after TRAPPIST (the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope project),[6][lower-alpha 2] which discovered the first two exoplanets around the star.[10]

Its planetary system was discovered by a team led by Michaël Gillon, a Belgian astronomer[11] at the University of Liege,[12] in 2016[13] during observations made at the La Silla Observatory, Chile,[14][15] using the TRAPPIST telescope. The discovery was based on anomalies in the light curves[lower-alpha 3] measured by the telescope in 2015. These were initially interpreted as indicating the existence of three planets. In 2016, separate discoveries revealed that the third planet was in fact multiple planets. The telescopes and observatories involved were[6] the Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based TRAPPIST–South, TRAPPIST–North in Oukaïmeden Observatory, Morocco, the South African Astronomical Observatory, and the Liverpool Telescopes and William Herschel Telescopes in Spain.[17]

The observations of TRAPPIST-1 are considered among the most important research findings of the Spitzer Space Telescope.[18] Complementing the findings were observations by the Himalayan Chandra Telescope, the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope, and the Very Large Telescope.[19] Since then, research has confirmed the existence of at least seven planets in the system,[20] the orbits of which have been calculated using measurements from the Spitzer and Kepler telescopes.[21] Some news reports incorrectly attributed the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 planets to NASA alone; in fact the TRAPPIST project that led to their discovery received funding from both NASA and the European Research Council of the European Union (EU).[22]

Description

see caption
True-colour illustration of the Sun (left) next to TRAPPIST-1 (right). TRAPPIST-1 is darker, redder, and smaller than the Sun.

TRAPPIST-1 is in the constellation Aquarius,[12] five degrees south of the celestial equator.[lower-alpha 4][24][25] It is a relatively close star[26] located 40.66±0.04 light-years from Earth,[lower-alpha 5][24] with a large proper motion[lower-alpha 6][26] and no companion stars.[29]

It is a red dwarf of spectral class M8.0±0.5,[lower-alpha 7][19][32] meaning it is relatively small and cold.[33] With a radius 12% of that of the Sun, TRAPPIST-1 is only slightly larger than the planet Jupiter (though much more massive).[19] Its mass is approximately 9% of that of the Sun,[33] being just sufficient to allow nuclear fusion to take place.[34][35] TRAPPIST-1's density is unusually low for a red dwarf.[36] It has a low effective temperature[lower-alpha 8] of 2,566 K (2,293 °C) making it, as of 2022, the coldest-known star to host planets.[38] TRAPPIST-1 is cold enough for condensates to form in its photosphere;[lower-alpha 9] these have been detected through the polarisation they induce in its radiation during transits of its planets.[40] Elements heavier than helium form compounds in its atmosphere, which display as absorption lines in TRAPPIST-1's spectrum.[41]

There is no evidence that it has a stellar cycle.[lower-alpha 10][43] Its luminosity, emitted mostly as infrared radiation, is about 0.055% that of the Sun.[33][44] Low-precision[45] measurements from the XMM-Newton satellite[46] and other facilities[47] show that the star emits faint radiation at short wavelengths such as X-rays and UV radiation.[lower-alpha 11][46] There are no detectable radio wave emissions.[49]

Rotation period and age

Measurements of TRAPPIST-1's rotation have yielded a period of 3.3 days; earlier measurements of 1.4 days appear to have been caused by changes in the distribution of its starspots.[50] Its rotational axis may be slightly offset from that of its planets.[51]

Using a combination of techniques including composition and movements of the star, the age of TRAPPIST-1 has been estimated at about 7.6±2.2 billion years,[52] making it older than the Solar System, which is about 4.5 billion years old.[53] It is expected to shine for ten trillion years—about 700 times[54] longer than the present age of the Universe[55]—whereas the Sun will run out of hydrogen and leave the main sequence[lower-alpha 12] in a few billion years.[54]

Activity

Photospheric features have been detected on TRAPPIST-1.[57] The Kepler and Spitzer Space Telescopes have observed possible bright spots, which may be faculae,[lower-alpha 13][59][60] although some of these may be too large to qualify as such.[61] Bright spots are correlated to the occurrence of some stellar flares.[lower-alpha 14][63] Kepler K2 observations have shown that TRAPPIST-1 produces frequent flares (42 flares in 80 days), including large, complex flares[64] that could alter nearby planetary atmospheres irreversibly and significantly, raising doubts of hosting life as we know it on Earth.[65]

The star has a strong magnetic field[66] with a mean intensity of about 600 gauss[lower-alpha 15][68] which may be an underestimate.[69] The magnetic field drives high chromospheric[lower-alpha 16][66] activity, and may be capable of trapping coronal mass ejections.[lower-alpha 17][58][70]

According to Garraffo et al. (2017), TRAPPIST-1 loses about 3×10−14 solar masses per year[71] to the stellar wind, a rate which is about 1.5 times that of the Sun.[72] Dong et al. (2018) simulated the observed properties of TRAPPIST-1 with a mass loss of 4.1×10−15 solar masses per year.[71] Simulations to estimate mass loss are complicated because, as of 2019, most of the parameters that govern TRAPPIST-1's stellar wind are not known from direct observation.[73]

Planetary system

The TRAPPIST-1 system is about as compact as Jupiter's moons and much more than the Solar System
Comparison of the orbits of the TRAPPIST-1 planets with the Solar System and Jupiter's moons

TRAPPIST-1 is orbited by seven planets, designated TRAPPIST-1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, and 1h[74] in alphabetic order going out from the star.[lower-alpha 18][77] These planets have orbital periods ranging from 1.5 to 19 days,[78][79][80] at distances of 0.011–0.059 astronomical units[lower-alpha 19] (1.7–8.9 million km).[82]

All the planets are much closer to their star than Mercury is to the Sun,[13] making the TRAPPIST-1 system very compact.[83] Kral et al. (2018) did not detect any comets around TRAPPIST-1,[84] and Marino et al. (2020) found no evidence of a Kuiper belt,[85] although it is uncertain whether a Solar System-like belt around TRAPPIST-1 would be observable from Earth.[86] Observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array found no evidence of a circumstellar dust disk.[87]

The inclinations of planetary orbits relative to each other are less than 0.1 degrees,[lower-alpha 20][89] making TRAPPIST-1 the flattest planetary system in the NASA Exoplanet Archive.[90] The orbits are highly circular, with minimal eccentricities[lower-alpha 21][83] and are well-aligned with the spin axis of TRAPPIST-1.[92] The planets orbit in the same plane and, from the perspective of the Solar System, transit TRAPPIST-1 during their orbit[93] and frequently pass in front of each other.[94]

Size and composition

The radii of the planets are estimated to range between 77.5+1.4−1.4% and 112.9+1.5−1.3% of Earth's radius.[95] The planet/star mass ratio of the TRAPPIST-1 system resembles that of the moon/planet ratio of the Solar System's gas giants.[96]

The TRAPPIST-1 planets are expected to have compositions that resemble each other[97] as well as that of Earth.[98] The estimated densities of the planets are lower than Earth's[21] which may imply that they have large amounts of volatile chemicals.[lower-alpha 22] Alternatively, their cores may be smaller than that of Earth and therefore they may be rocky planets with less iron than that of Earth,[100][101] include large amounts of elements other than iron,[102] or their iron may exist in an oxidised form rather than as a core.[101] Their densities are too low for a pure magnesium silicate composition,[lower-alpha 23] requiring the presence of lower-density compounds such as water.[104][105] Planets b, d, f, g, and h are expected to contain large quantities of volatile chemicals.[106] The planets may have deep atmospheres and oceans, and contain vast amounts of ice.[107] Subsurface oceans, buried under icy shells, would form in the colder planets.[108] Several compositions are possible considering the large uncertainties in their densities.[109] The photospheric features of the star may introduce inaccuracies in measurements of the properties of TRAPPIST-1's planets,[57] including their densities being underestimated by 8+20   -7 percent,[110] and incorrect estimates of their water content.[111]

Resonance and tides

File:PIA21427 - TRAPPIST-1 Planetary Orbits and Transits.ogv

The planets are in orbital resonances.[112] The durations of their orbits have ratios of 8:5, 5:3, 3:2, 3:2, 4:3, and 3:2 between neighbouring planet pairs,[113] and each set of three is in a Laplace resonance.[lower-alpha 24][83] Simulations have shown such resonances can remain stable over billions of years but that their stability is strongly dependent on initial conditions. Many configurations become unstable after less than a million years. The resonances enhance the exchange of angular momentum between the planets, resulting in measurable variations—earlier or later—in their transit times in front of TRAPPIST-1. These variations yield information on the planetary system,[115] such as the masses of the planets, when other techniques are not available.[116] The resonances and the proximity to the host star have led to comparisons between the TRAPPIST-1 system and the Galilean moons of Jupiter.[93] Kepler-223 is another exoplanet system with a TRAPPIST-1-like long resonance.[117]

The closeness of the planets to TRAPPIST-1 results in tidal interactions[118] stronger than those on Earth.[119] All the planets have reached an equilibrium with slow planetary rotations and tidal locking,[118] which can lead to the synchronisation of a planet's rotation to its revolution around its star.[lower-alpha 25][121] However, interactions among the planets could prevent them from reaching full synchronisation, which would have important implications for the planets' climates. These interactions could force periodic or episodic full rotations of the planets' surfaces with respect to the star on timescales of several Earth years.[122] Vinson, Tamayo, and Hansen (2019) found the planets TRAPPIST-1d, e, and f likely have chaotic rotations due to mutual interactions, preventing them from becoming synchronised to their star. Lack of synchronisation potentially makes the planets more habitable.[123] Other processes that can prevent synchronous rotation are torques induced by stable triaxial deformation of the planets,[lower-alpha 26] which would allow them to enter 3:2 resonances.[125]

The planets are likely to undergo substantial tidal heating[126] due to deformations arising from their orbital eccentricities and gravitational interactions with one another.[127] Such heating would facilitate volcanism and degassing[lower-alpha 27] especially on the innermost planets, with degassing facilitating the establishment of atmospheres.[129] According to Luger et al. (2017), tidal heating of the four innermost planets is expected to be greater than Earth's inner heat flux.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". For the outer planets Quick et al. (2020) noted that their tidal heating could be comparable to that in the Solar System bodies Europa, Enceladus and Triton,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and may be sufficient to drive detectable cryovolcanic activity.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Tidal heating could influence temperatures of the night sides and cold areas where volatiles may be trapped, and gases are expected to accumulate; it would also influence the properties of any subsurface oceansLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". where cryovolcanism,[lower-alpha 28]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". volcanism and hydrothermal venting[lower-alpha 29] could occur.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It may further be sufficient to melt the mantles of the four innermost planets, in whole or in part,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". potentially forming subsurface magma oceans.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". This heat source is likely dominant over radioactive decay, both of which have substantial uncertainties and are considerably less than the stellar radiation received.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Intense tides could fracture the planets' crusts even if they are not sufficiently strong to trigger the onset of plate tectonics.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Tides can also occur in the planetary atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Skies and impact of stellar light

TRAPPIST-1 planets are of similar or smaller size than Earth and have similar or smaller densities
Relative sizes, densities[lower-alpha 30] and illumination of the TRAPPIST-1 system compared to the inner planets of the Solar System

Because most of TRAPPIST-1's radiation is in the infrared region, there may be very little visible light on the planets' surfaces; Amaury Triaud, one of the system's co-discoverers, said the skies would never be brighter than Earth's sky at sunsetLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and only a little brighter than a night with a full moon. Ignoring atmospheric effects, illumination would be orange-red.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". For TRAPPIST-1e, the central star would be four times as wide in the sky as the Sun in Earth's.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". All of the planets would be visible from each other and would, in many cases, appear larger than Earth's Moon in the sky of Earth,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and each would be recognizable as a planet rather than a star.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". They would undergo noticeable retrograde motions in the sky.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Observers on TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g, however, could never experience a total stellar eclipse.[lower-alpha 31]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Assuming the existence of atmospheres, the star's long-wavelength radiation would be absorbed to a greater degree by water and carbon dioxide than sunlight on Earth; it would also be scattered less by the atmosphereLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and less reflected by ice,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". although the development of highly reflective hydrohalite ice may negate this effect.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The same amount of radiation results in a warmer planet compared to Sun-like irradiation;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". more radiation would be absorbed by the planets' upper atmosphere than by the lower layers, making the atmosphere more stable and less prone to convection.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Habitable zone

1e, 1f, and 1g is in the habitable zone
Habitable zones of TRAPPIST-1 and the Solar System. The displayed planetary surfaces are speculative.

For a dim star like TRAPPIST-1, the habitable zone[lower-alpha 32] is located closer to the star than for the Sun.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Three or fourLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". planets might be located in the habitable zone; these include e, f, and g;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or d, e, and f.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". As of 2017Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"., this is the largest-known number of planets within the habitable zone of any known star or star system.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The presence of liquid water on any of the planets depends on several other factors, such as albedo (reflectivity),Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the presence of an atmosphere,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and any greenhouse effect.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Surface conditions are difficult to constrain without better knowledge of the planets' atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". A synchronously rotating planet might not entirely freeze over if it receives too little radiation from its star because the day-side could be sufficiently heated to halt the progress of glaciation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Other factors for the occurrence of liquid water include the presence of oceans and vegetation;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the reflective properties of the land surface; the configuration of continents and oceans;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the presence of clouds;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and sea ice dynamics.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The effects of volcanic activity may extend the system's habitable zone to TRAPPIST-1h.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Even if the outer planets are too cold to be habitable, they may have ice-covered subsurface oceansLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". that may harbour life.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and X-ray radiationLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and heat the upper atmosphere until they escape from the planet. This was thought to have been particularly important early in the star's history, when radiation was more intense and could have heated every planet's water to its boiling point.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". This process is believed to have driven water from Venus.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". In the case of TRAPPIST-1, different studies with different assumptions on the kinetics, energetics, and XUV emissions have come to different conclusions on whether any TRAPPIST-1 planet may retain substantial amounts of water. Because the planets are most likely synchronised to their host star, any water present could become trapped on the planets' night sides and would be unavailable to support life unless heat transport by the atmosphereLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or tidal heating are intense enough to melt ice.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Moons

No moons with a size comparable to Earth's have been detected in the TRAPPIST-1 system,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and they are unlikely in such a densely packed planetary system. This is because moons would likely be either destroyed by their planet's gravity after entering its Roche limit[lower-alpha 33] or stripped from the planet by leaving its Hill radius[lower-alpha 34]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Although the TRAPPIST-1 planets appear in an analysis of potential exomoon hosts, they do not appear in the list of habitable-zone exoplanets that could host a moon for at least one Hubble time,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". a timeframe slightly longer than the current age of the Universe.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Despite these factors, it is possible the planets could host moons.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Magnetic effects

The TRAPPIST-1 planets are expected to be within the Alfvén surface of their host star,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the area around the star within which any planet would directly magnetically interact with the corona of the star, possibly destabilising any atmosphere the planet has.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Stellar energetic particles would not create a substantial radiation hazard for organisms on TRAPPIST-1 planets if atmospheres reached pressures of about Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Estimates of radiation fluxes have considerable uncertainties due to the lack of knowledge about the structure of TRAPPIST-1's magnetic field.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Induction heating from the star's time-varying electrical and magnetic fieldsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". may occur on its planetsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but this would make no substantial contribution to their energy balanceLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and is vastly exceeded by tidal heating.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Formation history

The TRAPPIST-1 planets most likely formed farther from the star and migrated inward,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". although it is possible they formed in their current locations.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". According to the most popular theory on the formation of the TRAPPIST-1 planets (Ormel et al. (2017)),Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the planets formed when a streaming instability[lower-alpha 35] at the water-ice line gave rise to precursor bodies, which accumulated additional fragments and migrated inward, eventually giving rise to planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The migration may initially have been fast and later slowed,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and tidal effects may have further influenced the formation processes.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The distribution of the fragments would have controlled the final mass of the planets, which would consist of approximately 10% water, consistent with observational inference.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Resonant chains of planets like those of TRAPPIST-1 usually become unstable when the gas disk that gave rise to them dissipates but, in this case, the planets remained in resonance.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The resonance may have been either present from the system's formation and was preserved when the planets simultaneously moved inward,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or it might have formed later when inward-migrating planets accumulated at the outer edge of the gas disk and interacted with each other.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Inward-migrating planets would contain substantial amounts of water—too much for it to entirely escape—whereas planets that formed in their current location would most likely lose all water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". According to Flock et al. (2019), the orbital distance of the innermost planet TRAPPIST-1b is consistent with the expected radius of an inward-moving planet around a star that was one order of magnitude brighter in the past,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and with the cavity in the protoplanetary disc created by TRAPPIST-1's magnetic field.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Alternatively, TRAPPIST-1h may have formed in or close to its current location.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

The presence of other bodies and planetesimals early in the system's history would have destabilised the TRAPPIST-1 planets' resonance if the bodies were massive enough.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Raymond et al. (2021) concluded the TRAPPIST-1 planets assembled in one to two million years, after which time little additional mass was accreted.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". This would limit any late delivery of water to the planetsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and also implies the planets cleared the neighbourhood[lower-alpha 36] of any additional material.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The lack of giant impact events (the rapid formation of the planets would have quickly exhausted pre-planetary material) would help the planets preserve their volatile materials,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". only once the planet formation process was complete.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Due to a combination of high insolation, the greenhouse effect of water vapour atmospheres, and remnant heat from the process of planet assembly, the TRAPPIST-1 planets would likely have initially had molten surfaces. Eventually the surfaces would cool until the magma oceans solidified, which in the case of TRAPPIST-1b may have taken between a few billions of years, or a few millions of years. The outer planets would then have become cold enough for water vapour to condense.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

List of planets

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TRAPPIST-1b

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1b has a semi-major axis of 0.0115 astronomical units (Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".)Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and an orbital period of 1.51 Earth days. It is tidally locked to its star. The planet is outside the habitable zone;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". its expected irradiation is more than four times that of EarthLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has measured a brightness temperature of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". on the day side.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1b has a slightly larger measured radius and mass than Earth but estimates of its density imply it does not exclusively consist of rock.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Owing to its black-body temperature of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"., TRAPPIST-1b may have had a runaway greenhouse effect similar to that of Venus;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". JWST observations indicate that it has either no atmosphere at all or one nearly devoid of CO2.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". If it has no atmosphere, the surface is expected to be subject to rapid volcanic overprinting which is expected given the amount of tidal heating.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Based on several climate models, the planet would have been desiccated by TRAPPIST-1's stellar wind and radiation;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". it could be quickly losing hydrogen and therefore any hydrogen-dominated atmosphere.[lower-alpha 37] Water, if any exists, could persist only in specific settings on the planet,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". whose surface temperature could be as high as Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"., making TRAPPIST-1b a candidate magma ocean planet.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". According to JWST observations, the planet has an albedo of about zero.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1c

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Infrared measurements by the NASA / ESA / Canadian Space Agency / James Webb Space Telescope of TRAPPIST-1 c indicate that it is likely not as Venus-like as once imagined.

TRAPPIST-1c has a semi-major axis of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and orbits its star every 2.42 Earth days. It is close enough to TRAPPIST-1 to be tidally locked.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". JWST observations have ruled out the existence of Venus-like atmospheres,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or CO2-rich atmospheresLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". without a temperature inversion.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Airlessness is possible,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but water vapour- or oxygen-rich atmospheres are not ruled out.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". These data imply that relative to Earth or Venus, TRAPPIST-1 c has a lower carbon content.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1c is outside the habitable zoneLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". as it receives about twice as much stellar irradiation as EarthLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and thus either is or has been a runaway greenhouse.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Based on several climate models, the planet would have been desiccated by TRAPPIST-1's stellar wind and radiation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1c could harbour water only in specific settings on its surface.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Observations in 2017 showed no escaping hydrogen,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but observations by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in 2020 indicated that hydrogen may be escaping at a rate of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1d

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1d has a semi-major axis of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and an orbital period of 4.05 Earth days. It is more massive but less dense than Mars.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Based on fluid dynamical arguments, TRAPPIST-1d is expected to have weak temperature gradients on its surface if it is tidally locked,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and may have significantly different stratospheric dynamics than that of Earth.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Several climate models suggest that the planet mayLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or may not have been desiccated by TRAPPIST-1's stellar wind and radiation;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". density estimates, if confirmed, indicate it is not dense enough to consist solely of rock.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The current state of TRAPPIST-1d depends on its rotation and climatic factors like cloud feedback;[lower-alpha 38]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". it is close to the inner edge of the habitable zone, but the existence of either liquid water or alternatively a runaway greenhouse effect (that would render it uninhabitable) are dependent on detailed atmospheric conditions.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Water could persist in specific settings on the planet.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The planet was observed by the JWST; no Earth-like atmosphere was detected.[130]

TRAPPIST-1e

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1e has a semi-major axis of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and orbits its star every 6.10 Earth days.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It has density similar that of Earth.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Based on several climate models, the planet is the most likely of the system to have retained its water,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and the most likely to have liquid water for many climate states. A dedicated climate model project called TRAPPIST-1 Habitable Atmosphere Intercomparison (THAI) has been launched to study its potential climate states.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Based on observations of its Lyman-alpha radiation emissions, TRAPPIST-1e may be losing hydrogen at a rate of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1e is in a comparable position within the habitable zone to that of Proxima Centauri b,[lower-alpha 39]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". which also has an Earth-like density.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1e could have retained masses of water equivalent to several of Earth's oceans.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Moderate quantities of carbon dioxide could warm TRAPPIST-1e to temperatures suitable for the presence of liquid water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1f

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1f has a semi-major axis of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and orbits its star every 9.21 Earth days.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It is likely too distant from its host star to sustain liquid water, being instead an entirely glaciated snowball planetLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". that might host a subsurface ocean.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Moderate quantities of CO2 could warm TRAPPIST-1f to temperatures suitable for the presence of liquid water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Lakes or ponds with liquid water might form in places where tidal heating is concentrated.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1f may have retained masses of water equivalent to several of Earth's oceansLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and which could comprise up to half of the planet's mass;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". it could thus be an ocean planet.[lower-alpha 40]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1g

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1g has a semi-major axis of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and orbits its star every 12.4 Earth days.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It is likely too distant from its host star to sustain liquid water, being instead a snowball planetLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". that might host a subsurface ocean.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Moderate quantities of CO2Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or internal heat from radioactive decay and tidal heating may warm its surface to above the melting point of water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1g may have retained masses of water equivalent to several of Earth's oceans;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". density estimates of the planet, if confirmed, indicate it is not dense enough to consist solely of rock.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Up to half of its mass may be water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1h

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1h has a semi-major axis of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".; it is the system's least-massive-confirmed planetLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and orbits its star every 18.9 Earth days.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It is likely too distant from its host star to sustain liquid water and may be a snowball planet,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or have a methane/nitrogen atmosphere resembling that of Titan.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It might host a subsurface ocean.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Large quantities of CO2, hydrogen, or methane,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or internal heat from radioactive decay and tidal heating,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". would be needed to warm TRAPPIST-1h to the point where liquid water could exist.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1h could have retained masses of water equivalent to several of Earth's oceans.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Candidate planet TRAPPIST-1i

TRAPPIST-1i is a candidate planet identified in 2025 from transit photometry by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). If confirmed, it would be the outermost planet in the system, boosting the number of planets to eight; the highest of any exoplanetary system known, tied with Kepler-90. The planet's radius, deduced from transit data, is about 20% that of Earth (about the size of Neptune's moon Triton), which would make it the smallest planet known. Although the planet's existence has been predicted by transit timing variations of TRAPPIST-1hLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and its estimated location seems to match predictions by the Titius–Bode Law,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the detection of the planet by JWST is tentative, and the observed transit might instead be the occultation of TRAPPIST-1b by TRAPPIST-1c. A Bayesian information criterion also prefer the exclusion of TRAPPIST-1i.[131]

Data table

TRAPPIST-1 planets data tableLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
Planet Mass (M) Semi-major axis (au) Semi-major axis (km) Orbital period (days) Orbital eccentricityLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Orbital inclinationLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Radius (R) Radiant fluxLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TemperatureLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Surface gravity (g)Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". ORb
[lower-alpha 41]
ORi
[lower-alpha 42]
b 1.374
±0.069
0.01154
±0.0001
1,726,000
±15,000 km
1.510826
±0.000006
0.00622
±0.00304
89.728
±0.165°
1.116
+0.014−0.012
4.153
±0.160
397.6±3.8K
(124.5 ± 3.8 °C; 256.0 ± 6.8 °F)[lower-alpha 43]
1.102
±0.052
c 1.308
±0.056
0.01580
±0.00013
2,370,000
±19,500
2.421937
±0.000018
0.00654
±0.00188
89.778
±0.118°
1.097
+0.014−0.012
2.214
±0.085
339.7±3.3K
(66.6 ± 3.3 °C; 151.8 ± 5.9 °F)
1.086
±0.043
5:8 5:8
d 0.388
±0.012
0.02227
±0.00019
3,340,500
±28,500
4.049219
±0.000026
0.00837
±0.00093
89.896
±0.077°
0.770
+0.011−0.010
1.115
±0.04
286.2±2.8K
(13.1 ± 2.8 °C; 55.5 ± 5.0 °F)
0.624
±0.019
3:8 3:5
e 0.692
±0.022
0.02925
±0.00025
4,387,500
±37,500
6.101013
±0.000035
0.00510
±0.00058
89.793
±0.048°
0.920
+0.013−0.012
0.646
±0.025
249.7±2.4K
(−23.5 ± 2.4 °C; −10.2 ± 4.3 °F)
0.817
±0.024
1:4 2:3
f 1.039
±0.031
0.03849
±0.00033
5,773,500
±49,500
9.207540
±0.000032
0.01007
±0.00068
89.740
±0.019°
1.045
+0.013−0.012
0.373
±0.014
217.7±2.1K
(−55.5 ± 2.1 °C; −67.8 ± 3.8 °F)
0.951
±0.024
1:6 2:3
g 1.321
±0.038
0.04683
±0.0004
7,024,500
±60,000
12.352446
±0.000054
0.00208
±0.00058
89.742
±0.012°
1.129
+0.015−0.013
0.252
±0.010
197.3±1.9K
(−75.8 ± 1.9 °C; −104.5 ± 3.4 °F)
1.035
±0.026
1:8 3:4
h 0.326
±0.020
0.06189
±0.00053
9,283,500
±79,500
18.772866
±0.000214
0.00567
±0.00121
89.805
±0.013°
0.775
+0.014−0.014
0.144
±0.006
171.7±1.7K
(−101.5 ± 1.7 °C; −150.6 ± 3.1 °F)
0.570
±0.038
1:12 2:3
i (unconfirmed)[131] 0.081
±0.010
12,000,000
±1000000
28.3
+5.4−6.0
89.78
+0.13−0.20
0.224
+0.066−0.051

Potential planetary atmospheres

Lengthening brightness dips from 1b to 1h. Shallowest to deepest dips: 1h, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 1c, 1b.
Graph showing dips in brightness in TRAPPIST-1 star by the planet's transits or obstruction of starlight. Larger planets create deeper dips and farther planets create longer dips.

As of 2023Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"., the existence of an atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1b has been ruled out by James Webb Space Telescope observations, and there is no evidence for the other planets in the system,[lower-alpha 44]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but atmospheres are not ruled out,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".[lower-alpha 45] and could be detected in the future.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The outer planets are more likely to have atmospheres than the inner planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Several studies have simulated how different atmospheric scenarios would look to observers, and the chemical processes underpinning these atmospheric compositions.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The visibility of an exoplanet and of its atmosphere scale with the inverse square of the radius of its host star.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Detection of individual components of the atmospheres—in particular CO2, ozone, and waterLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".—would also be possible, although different components would require different conditions and different numbers of transits.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". A contamination of the atmospheric signals through patterns in the stellar photosphere is a further impediment to detection.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

The existence of atmospheres around TRAPPIST-1's planets depends on the balance between the amount of atmosphere initially present, its rate of evaporation, and the rate at which it is built back up by meteorite impacts,[lower-alpha 46]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". incoming material from a protoplanetary disk,[lower-alpha 47]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and outgassing and volcanic activity.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Impact events may be particularly important in the outer planets because they can both add and remove volatiles; addition is likely dominant in the outermost planets where impact velocities are slower.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The formation conditions of the planets would give them large initial quantities of volatile materials,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". including oceans over 100 times larger than those of Earth.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

If the planets are tidally locked to TRAPPIST-1, surfaces that permanently face away from the star can cool sufficiently for any atmosphere to freeze out on the night side.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". This frozen-out atmosphere could be recycled through glacier-like flows to the day side with assistance from tidal or geothermal heating from below, or could be stirred by impact events. These processes could allow an atmosphere to persist.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". In a carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere, carbon-dioxide ice is denser than water ice, under which it tends to be buried. CO2–water compounds named clathrates[lower-alpha 48] can form. Further complications are a potential runaway feedback loop between melting ice and evaporation, and the greenhouse effect.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Numerical modelling and observations constrain the properties of hypothetical atmospheres around TRAPPIST-1 planets:Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

  • Theoretical calculationsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and observations have ruled out the possibility the TRAPPIST-1 planets have hydrogen-richLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or helium-rich atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Hydrogen-rich exospheres[lower-alpha 49] may be detectableLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but have not been reliably detected,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". except perhaps for TRAPPIST-1b and 1c by Bourrier et al. (2017).Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Water-dominated atmospheres, though suggested by some density estimates, are improbable for the planets because they are expected to be unstable under the conditions around TRAPPIST-1, especially early in the star's life.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The spectral properties of the planets imply they do not have a cloud-free, water-rich atmosphere.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Oxygen-dominated atmospheres can form when radiation splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, and the hydrogen escapes due to its lighter mass. The existence of such an atmosphere and its mass depends on the initial water mass, on whether the oxygen is dragged out of the atmosphere by escaping hydrogen and of the state of the planet's surface; a partially molten surface could absorb sufficient quantities of oxygen to remove an atmosphere.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Atmospheres formed by ammonia and/or methane near TRAPPIST-1 would be destroyed by the star's radiation at a sufficient rate to quickly remove an atmosphere. The rate at which ammonia or methane are produced, possibly by organisms, would have to be considerably larger than that on Earth to sustain such an atmosphere. It is possible the development of organic hazes from ammonia or methane photolysis could shield the remaining molecules from degradation caused by radiation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Ducrot et al. (2020) interpreted observational data as implying methane-dominated atmospheres are unlikely around TRAPPIST-1 planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Nitrogen-dominated atmospheres are particularly unstable with respect to atmospheric escape, especially on the innermost planets, although the presence of CO2 may slow evaporation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Unless the TRAPPIST-1 planets initially contained far more nitrogen than Earth, they are unlikely to have retained such atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • CO2-dominated atmospheres escape slowly because CO2 effectively radiates away energy and thus does not readily reach escape velocity; on a synchronously rotating planet, however, CO2 can freeze out on the night side, especially if there are no other gases in the atmosphere. The decomposition of CO2 caused by radiation could yield substantial amounts of oxygen, carbon monoxide (CO),Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and ozone.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Theoretical modelling by Krissansen-Totton and Fortney (2022) suggests the inner planets most likely have oxygen-and-CO2-rich atmospheres, if any.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". If the planets have an atmosphere, the amount of precipitation, its form and location would be determined by the presence and position of mountains and oceans, and the rotation period.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Planets in the habitable zone are expected to have an atmospheric circulation regime resembling Earth's tropical regions with largely uniform temperatures.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Whether greenhouse gases can accumulate on the outer TRAPPIST-1 planets in sufficient quantities to warm them to the melting point of water is controversial; on a synchronously rotating planet, CO2 could freeze and precipitate on the night side, and ammonia and methane would be destroyed by XUV radiation from TRAPPIST-1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Carbon dioxide freezing-out can occur only on the outermost planets unless special conditions are met, and other volatiles do not freeze out.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Stability

see caption
Observed brightness of the TRAPPIST-1 star, showing large variation in brightness. The graph displays dips, indicating the transit of exoplanets. The planet corresponding to the dips in brightness are plotted below with diamond markers.

The emission of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation by a star has an important influence on the stability of its planets' atmospheres, their composition and the habitability of their surfaces.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It can cause the ongoing removal of atmospheres from planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". XUV radiation-induced atmospheric escape has been observed on gas giants.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". M dwarfs emit large amounts of XUV radiation;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1 and the Sun emit about the same amount of XUV radiation[lower-alpha 50] and because TRAPPIST-1's planets are much closer to the star than the Sun's, they receive much more intense[lower-alpha 51] irradiation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1 has been emitting radiation for much longer than the Sun.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The process of atmospheric escape has been modelled mainly in the context of hydrogen-rich atmospheres and little quantitative research has been done on those of other compositions such as water and CO2.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1 has moderate to high stellar activity,[lower-alpha 52]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and this may be another difficulty for the persistence of atmospheres and water on the planets:Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

  • Dwarfs of the spectral class M have intense flares;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". TRAPPIST-1 averages one flare every two daysLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and about four to six superflares[lower-alpha 53] per year.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Such flares would have only small impacts on atmospheric temperatures but would substantially affect the stability and chemistry of atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". According to Samara, Patsourakos, and Georgoulis (2021), the TRAPPIST-1 planets are unlikely to be able to retain atmospheres against coronal mass ejections.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • The stellar wind from TRAPPIST-1 may have a pressure 1,000 times larger than that of the Sun at Earth's orbit, which could destabilise atmospheres of the star's planetsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". up to planet f. The pressure would push the wind deep into the atmospheres,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". facilitating loss of water and evaporation of the atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Stellar wind-driven escape in the Solar System is largely independent from planetary properties such as mass,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". scaling instead with the stellar wind mass flux impacting the planet.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Stellar wind from TRAPPIST-1 could remove the atmospheres of its planets on a timescale of 100 million to 10 billion years.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Ohmic heating[lower-alpha 54] of the atmosphere of TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g amounts to five to fifteen times the heating from XUV radiation; if the heat is effectively absorbed, it could destabilise the atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

The star's history also influences the atmospheres of its planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Immediately after its formation, TRAPPIST-1 would have been in a pre-main-sequence state, which may have lasted between hundreds of millionsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and two billion years.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". While in this state, it would have been considerably brighter than it is today and the star's intense irradiation would have impacted the atmospheres of surrounding planets, vaporising all common volatiles such as ammonia, CO2, sulfur dioxide, and water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Thus, all of the system's planets would have been heated to a runaway greenhouse[lower-alpha 55] for at least part of their existence.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The XUV radiation would have been even higher during the pre-main-sequence stage.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Possible life

Life may be possible in the TRAPPIST-1 system, and some of the star's planets are considered promising targets for its detection.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". On the basis of atmospheric stability, TRAPPIST-1e is theoretically the planet most likely to harbour life; the probability that it does is considerably less than that of Earth. There are an array of factors at play:Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

  • Due to multiple interactions, TRAPPIST-1 planets are expected to have intense tides.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". If oceans are present,[lower-alpha 56] the tides could: lead to alternate flooding and drying of coastal landscapes triggering chemical reactions conducive to the development of life;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". favour the evolution of biological rhythms such as the day-night cycle that otherwise would not develop in a synchronously rotating planet;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". mix oceans, thus supplying and redistributing nutrients;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and stimulate periodic expansions of marine organisms similar to red tides on Earth.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • TRAPPIST-1 may not produce sufficient quantities of radiation for photosynthesis to support an Earth-like biosphere.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Mullan and Bais (2018) speculated that radiation from flares may increase the photosynthetic potential of TRAPPIST-1,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but according to Lingam and Loeb (2019), the potential would still be small.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Due to the proximity of the TRAPPIST-1 planets, it is possible rock-encased microorganisms ripped[lower-alpha 57] from one planet may arrive at another planet while still viable inside the rock, allowing life to spread between the planets if it originates on one.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Too much UV radiation from a star can sterilise the surface of a planetLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". but too little may not allow the formation of chemical compounds that give rise to life.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Inadequate production of hydroxyl radicals by low stellar-UV emission may allow gases such as carbon monoxide that are toxic to higher life to accumulate in the planets' atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The possibilities range from UV fluxes from TRAPPIST-1 being unlikely to be much larger than these of early Earth—even in the event that TRAPPIST-1's emissions of UV radiation are highLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".—to being sufficient to sterilise the planets if they do not have protective atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". As of 2020Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". it is unclear which effect would predominate around TRAPPIST-1,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". although observations with the Kepler Space Telescope and the Evryscope telescopes indicate the UV flux may be insufficient for the formation of life or its sterilisation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Intense flaring activity of the host star—that could alter nearby planets' atmospheres irreversibly and significantly—raised doubts of the habitability of the system.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  •  Although initial water reservoirs could have been lost during the early life of the system due to the stellar activity, a potential subsequent water delivery event, like the late heavy bombardment in the Solar system, could replenish planetary water reservoirs.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • The outer planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system could host subsurface oceans similar to those of Enceladus and Europa in the Solar System.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Chemolithotrophy, the growth of organisms based on non-organic reduced compounds,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". could sustain life in such oceans.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Very deep oceans may be inimical to the development of life.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  • Some planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system may have enough water to completely submerge their surfaces.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". If so, this would have important effects on the possibility of life developing on the planets, and on their climates,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". as weathering would decrease, starving the oceans of nutrients like phosphorus as well as potentially leading to the accumulation of carbon dioxide in their atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

TRAPPIST-1 is well-suited to the search of technosignatures that would indicate the existence of past or present technology in the TRAPPIST-1 system.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Searches in 2017 found only signals coming from Earth,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". others in 2024 found nothingLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". although their sensitivity is low.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". In less than two millennia, Earth will be transiting in front of the Sun from the viewpoint of TRAPPIST-1, making the detection of life on Earth from TRAPPIST-1 possible.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Reception and scientific importance

GIF image of a pixellated star
Kepler image of TRAPPIST-1

Public reaction and cultural impact

Planet hop from TRAPPIST-1e – Voted best 'hab zone' vacation within 12 parsecs of Earth
Fictional TRAPPIST-1e tourism poster made by NASA

The discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 planets drew widespread attention in major world newspapers, social media, streaming television, and websites.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". As of 2017Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"., the discovery of TRAPPIST-1 led to the largest single-day web traffic to the NASA website.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". NASA started a public campaign on Twitter to find names for the planets, which drew responses of varying seriousness, although the names of the planets will be decided by the International Astronomical Union.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The dynamics of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system have been represented as music, such as Tim Pyle's Trappist Transits,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". in Isolation's single Trappist-1 (A Space Anthem)Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and Leah Asher's piano work TRAPPIST-1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The alleged discovery of an SOS signal from TRAPPIST-1 was an April Fools prank by researchers at the High Energy Stereoscopic System in Namibia.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". In 2018, Aldo Spadon created a giclée (digital artwork) named "TRAPPIST-1 Planetary System as seen from Space".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". A website was dedicated to the TRAPPIST-1 system.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Exoplanets are often featured in science-fiction works; books, comics, and video games have featured the TRAPPIST-1 system, the earliest being The Terminator, a short story by Swiss author Laurence Suhner published in the academic journal that announced the system's discovery.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". At least one conference was organised to recognise works of fiction featuring TRAPPIST-1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The planets have been used as the basis of science education competitionsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and school projects,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". their surfaces portrayed in artistic imagery.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Websites offering TRAPPIST-1-like planets as settings of virtual reality simulations exist,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". such as the "Exoplanet Travel Bureau"Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and the "Exoplanets Excursion"—both by NASA.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Scientific accuracy has been a point of discussion for such cultural depictions of TRAPPIST-1 planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Scientific importance

TRAPPIST-1 has drawn intense scientific interest.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Its planets are the most easily studied exoplanets within their star's habitable zone owing to their relative closeness, the small size of their host star, and because from Earth's perspective they frequently pass in front of their host star.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Future observations with space-based observatories and ground-based facilities may allow further insights into their properties such as density, atmospheres, and biosignatures.[lower-alpha 58] TRAPPIST-1 planetsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". are considered an important observation target for the James Webb Space Telescope[lower-alpha 59]Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and other telescopes under construction;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". JWST began investigating the TRAPPIST-1 planets in 2023.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Together with the discovery of Proxima Centauri b, the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 planets and the fact that at least three of the planets are within the habitable zone has led to an increase in studies on planetary habitability.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The planets are considered prototypical for the research on habitability of M dwarfs.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". The star has been the subject of detailed studiesLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". of its various aspectsLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". including the possible effects of vegetation on its planets; the possibility of detecting oceans on its planets using starlight reflected off their surfaces;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". possible efforts to terraform its planets;Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and difficulties any inhabitants of the planets would encounter with discovering certain laws of physics (general relativity, Kepler's laws,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and the law of gravitationLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".) and with interstellar travel.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

The role EU funding played in the discovery of TRAPPIST-1 has been cited as an example of the importance of EU projects,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and the involvement of a Moroccan observatory and a Saudi Arabian university as an indication of the Islamic and Arab world's role in science. The original discoverers were affiliated with universities spanning Africa, Europe, and North America,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". and the discovery of TRAPPIST-1 is considered to be an example of the importance of co-operation between observatories.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It is also one of the major astronomical discoveries from Chilean observatories.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Exploration

TRAPPIST-1 is too distant from Earth to be reached by humans with current or expected technology.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Spacecraft mission designs using present-day rockets and gravity assists would need hundreds of millennia to reach TRAPPIST-1; even a theoretical interstellar probe travelling at near the speed of light would need well over 40 years to reach the star. The speculative Breakthrough Starshot proposal for sending small, laser-accelerated, uncrewed probes would require around two hundred years to reach TRAPPIST-1.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

See also

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Notes

  1. A red dwarf is a very small and cold star. They are the most common type of star in the Milky Way.[1]
  2. TRAPPIST is a 60-centimetre (24 in) telescope[6] intended to be a prototype for the "Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars" project (SPECULOOS), which aims to identify planets around close, cold stars.[7][8] TRAPPIST is used to find exoplanets, and is preferentially employed on stars colder than 3,000 K (2,730 °C; 4,940 °F).[9]
  3. When a planet moves in front of its star, it absorbs part of the star's radiation, which may be observed via telescopes.[16]
  4. The celestial equator is the equator's projection into the sky.[23]
  5. Based on parallax measurements;[24] the parallax is the position of a celestial object with respect to other celestial objects for a given position of Earth. It can be used to infer the distance of the object from Earth.[27]
  6. The movement of the star in the sky, relative to background stars.[28]
  7. Red dwarfs include the spectral type M and K.[30] Spectral types are used to categorise stars by their temperature.[31]
  8. The effective temperature is the temperature a black body that emits the same amount of radiation would have.[37]
  9. The photosphere is a thin layer at the surface of a star, where most of its light is produced.[39]
  10. The solar cycle is the Sun's 11-year long period, during which solar output varies by about 0.1%.[42]
  11. Including Lyman-alpha radiation[48]
  12. The main sequence is the longest stage of a star's lifespan, when it is fusing hydrogen.[56]
  13. Faculae are bright spots on the photosphere.[58]
  14. Flares are presumably magnetic phenomena lasting for minutes or hours during which parts of the star emit more radiation than usual.[58] In the case of TRAPPIST-1, flares reach temperatures of no more than 9,000 K (8,730 °C; 15,740 °F).[62]
  15. For comparison, a strong fridge magnet has a strength of about 100 gauss and Earth's magnetic field about 0.5 gauss.[67]
  16. The chromosphere is an outer layer of a star.[58]
  17. A coronal mass ejection is an eruption of coronal material to the outside of a star.[58][70]
  18. Exoplanets are named in order of discovery as "b", "c", and so on; if multiple planets are discovered at once they are named in order of increasing orbital period.[75] The term "TRAPPIST-1a" is used to refer to the star itself.[76]
  19. One astronomical unit (AU) is the mean distance between the Earth and the Sun.[81]
  20. For comparison, Earth's orbit around the Sun is inclined by about 1.578 degrees.[88]
  21. The inner two planets' orbits may be circular; the others could have a small eccentricity.[91]
  22. A volatile is an element or compound with a low boiling point, such as ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, or water.[99]
  23. The composition of the mantle of rocky planets is typically approximated as a magnesium silicate.[103]
  24. A Laplace resonance is an orbital resonance that consists of three bodies, similar to the Galilean moons Europa, Ganymede, and Io around Jupiter.[114]
  25. This causes one half of the planet to perpetually face the star in a permanent day and the other half perpetually face away from the star in a permanent night.[120]
  26. Where a planet, rather than being a symmetric sphere, has a different radius for each of the three main axes.[124]
  27. Degassing is the release of gases, which can end up forming an atmosphere, from the mantle or from magma.[128]
  28. Cryovolcanism occurs when steam or liquid water, or aqueous fluids, erupt to a planet surface ordinarily too cold to host liquid water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  29. Hydrothermal vents are hot springs that occur underwater, and are hypothesised to be places where life could originate.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  30. Not accounting for gravitational compression.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  31. That is, the inner planets could never cover the entire disk of TRAPPIST-1 from the vantage point of these planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  32. The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for the existence of liquid water; it is also called the "Goldilocks zone".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  33. The Roche limit is the distance at which a body is ripped apart by tides.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  34. The Hill radius is the maximum distance at which a planet's gravity can hold a moon without the star's gravity taking the moon away.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  35. A streaming instability is a process where interactions between gas and solid particles cause the latter to clump together in filaments. These filaments can give rise to the precursor bodies of planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  36. According to the International Astronomical Union criteria, a body has to clear its neighbourhood to qualify as a planet in the Solar System.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  37. On the basis of the Lyman-alpha radiation emissions, TRAPPIST-1b may be losing hydrogen at a rate of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  38. Clouds on the day side reflecting starlight could cool TRAPPIST-1d down to temperatures that allow the presence of liquid water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  39. The exoplanet Proxima Centauri b resides in the habitable zone of the nearest star to the Solar System.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  40. Ocean bodies can still be referred to as such when they are covered by ice.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  41. Approximate orbital resonance with TRAPPIST-1b
  42. Approximate orbital resonance with inward planet
  43. Measured surface temperature of Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  44. Bourrier et al. (2017) interpreted UV absorption data from the Hubble Space Telescope as implying the outer TRAPPIST-1 planets still have an atmosphere.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  45. Computer modelling indicates that the non-existence of an atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1 b and c does not imply the lack of same around the other planets.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  46. Impact events can also remove atmospheres, but a high rate of such "impact erosion" implies a mass of meteorites that is not compatible with the properties of the TRAPPIST-1 system.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  47. A protoplanetary disk is a disk of matter surrounding a star. Planets are thought to form in such disks.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  48. A clathrate is a chemical compound where one compound (or chemical element) e.g. carbon dioxide (or xenon), is trapped within a cage-like assembly of molecules from another compound.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  49. The exosphere is the region of an atmosphere where density is so low that atoms or molecules no longer collide. It is formed by atmospheric escape and the presence of a hydrogen-rich exosphere implies the presence of water.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  50. Different sources estimate that TRAPPIST-1 emits as much as the Sun at solar minimum,Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". the same amountLua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". or more than the Sun.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  51. The fraction of radiation in the XUV is estimated to range 6-9*10^-4 or 10^-3.51 of the total luminosity.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  52. Stellar activity is the occurrence of luminosity changes, mostly in the X-ray bands, caused by a star's magnetic field.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  53. Flares with an energy of over Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24"..Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  54. Ohmic heating takes place when electrical currents excited by the stellar wind flow through parts of the atmosphere, heating it.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  55. In a runaway greenhouse, all water on a planet is in the form of vapour.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  56. Non-ocean bearing planets can also be subject to tidal heating (or flexing), resulting in structural deformation.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  57. For example, meteorite impacts could break off rocks from planets at a sufficient speed that they escape its gravity.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  58. Biosignatures are properties of a planet that can be detected from far away and which suggest the existence of life, such as atmospheric gases that are produced by biological processes.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".
  59. As of 2017Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". they were among the smallest planets known where JWST would be able to detect atmospheres.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". It is possible the JWST may not have time to reliably detect certain biosignatures such as methane and ozone.Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

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  131. 131.0 131.1 Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24".

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Sources

  • Ducrot, Elsa; Gillon, Michael; Agol, Eric (June 2022). "A four years follow-up campaign of TRAPPIST-1 with the SPECULOOS telescopes". AAS Topical Conference Series 9: Exoplanets IV. 54. p. 104.03. Bibcode2022BAAS...54e1403D. 

Further reading

Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Lua error: Internal error: The interpreter has terminated with signal "24". Coordinates: Sky map 23h 06m 29.383s, −05° 02′ 28.59″


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