# NASA has discovered 7 Earth-like planets 40 light years away **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 22, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494 "2017-02-22T19:18:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/1 "2017-02-22T19:18:49Z")
[Article here](http://www.vox.com/2017/2/22/14698030/nasa-seven-exoplanet-discovery-trappist-1). Very, very exciting stuff! ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/2 "2017-02-22T19:24:50Z")
In short, the star is [Trappist-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAPPIST-1#Planetary_system), a tiny dwarf star (about 10% the size of our sun). That means [low light and heat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-cool_dwarf) compared to our sun. The planets are very close, so close that their orbits appear to be tidally locked (the same side of the planet always faces the sun, such that one side is always day time and one side is always night), but the sun is cool enough that 3 of them may be in the “habitable zone” in which liquid water can exist. The planets are also ideally suited for atmospheric observation, since they pass in front of their star and we can look at the light that refracts through the atmosphere – this may tell us if there is oxygen present. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/3 "2017-02-22T20:07:52Z")
Its cool until our new intergalactic overlords show themselves. :o ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/4 "2017-02-22T20:56:07Z")
Forty light years? That means inhabitants of the Trappist system are now receiving transmissions of whatever televisions shows were being broadcast here in 1977. Let’s see, that would be shows like _Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley_ or _Three’s Company_. ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/5 "2017-02-22T20:57:16Z")
Fascinating but unfortunately: Planet #1 (closest to Sun) citizens really pissed that they can’t find any shade. Have made up elaborate conspiracy theory about how Planet #7 got them there Planet #2 people really hate planet #3 people for reasons no one can explain Planet #4 constantly disses Planet #5 for being “small” Red Planet #6 doesn’t understand why all the other planets can’t get along and just be red like they are Planet #7 citizens constantly whine about feeling very left out of the whole thing ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/6 "2017-02-22T21:09:03Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Forty light years? That means inhabitants of the Trappist system are now receiving transmissions of whatever televisions shows were being broadcast here in 1977. > > Let’s see, that would be shows like _Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley_ or _Three’s Company_. They will nuke us. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/7 "2017-02-22T21:53:43Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Forty light years? That means inhabitants of the Trappist system are now receiving transmissions of whatever televisions shows were being broadcast here in 1977. > > Let’s see, that would be shows like _Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley_ or _Three’s Company_. It’s even worse than that. They’ll also be tuning into the likes of ‘Disco Duck’, ‘Convoy’, and ‘The Streak’. Mercy sakes. mmm ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/8 "2017-02-22T22:18:32Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > It’s even worse than that. They’ll also be tuning into the likes of ‘Disco Duck’, ‘Convoy’, and ‘The Streak’. > > Mercy sakes. > mmm We’re doomed! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/9 "2017-02-22T22:19:10Z")
They’ll think that disco is our primary method of communication, and Donna Summer is our Supreme Leader. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/10 "2017-02-22T22:26:57Z")
This is getting worse and more worse. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/11 "2017-02-22T22:32:41Z")
Point of order: Although the VOX article credits NASA “along with partners around the world”, the TRAPPIST instrument that discovered those exoplanets is Belgian, financed mostly by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS) and the Liège University (website with info here: [http://www.trappist.ulg.ac.be/cms/c\_3300885/en/trappist-portail](http://www.trappist.ulg.ac.be/cms/c_3300885/en/trappist-portail)), and it is installed in the ESO (European Southern Observatory) in Chile, in the mountains of La Silla. The US does not participate in the ESO. As a matter of fact, although the TRAPPIST instrument has some automatic capabilities, it is actually controlled from Liège, in Belgium, 12000 km away. The team that made the discovery, headed by Michaël Gillion (mentioned in the VOX article), works at the Institut d’Astrophysique et Géophysique at the University of Liège. Of course, the ESO cooperates with NASA and there are exchanges of information as well as letting NASA use some instruments at times – however, the article makes it look like NASA was the moving force behind the whole research and the discovery, when that was absolutely not the case. Links for more info: > **[TRAPPIST](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAPPIST)** > > The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) is the corporate name for a pair of Belgian optic robotic telescopes. TRAPPIST–South, which is situated high in the Chilean mountains at ESO's La Silla Observatory, came online in 2010, and TRAPPIST–North situated at the Oukaïmeden Observatory in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, came online in 2016. > TRAPPIST is controlled from Liège, Belgium, with some autonomous features. It consists of two 60 cm (24 in) reflecting robotic teles... > **[European Southern Observatory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Southern_Observatory)** > > The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 member states for ground-based astronomy. Created in 1962, ESO has provided astronomers with state-of-the-art research facilities and access to the southern sky. The organisation employs over 750 staff members and receives annual member state contributions of approximately €162 million. It ESO... > **[La Silla Observatory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Silla_Observatory)** > > La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was the first in Chile to be used by ESO. > The La Silla telescopes and instruments are located 150 km northeast of La Serena at the outskirts of the Chilean Atacama Desert, one of the driest and most rem... Just setting the record straight! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/12 "2017-02-22T23:19:54Z")
This is amazing news. Science is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/13 "2017-02-22T23:28:32Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This is amazing news. Science is wonderful. Who are you, and what have you done with Quartz? Is he being held prisoner in Belgium? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/14 "2017-02-23T00:40:13Z")
This is obviously the location of the Bizarro world. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/15 "2017-02-23T01:37:17Z")
And the likelihood of extraterrestrial life remains the same: unknown. It’s fun to watch the data pile up, though. Science are cool… ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/16 "2017-02-23T06:03:22Z")
[Google Doodle](https://www.google.com/doodles/seven-earth-size-exoplanets-discovered) celebrating this discovery. It looks like \*\*Profound Gibberish \*\*may be right. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/17 "2017-02-23T06:30:24Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Just setting the record straight! You’re talking about the original discovery of three planets. The recent announcement added four more planets, and the observations were made from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Of course the Belgians deserve full credit for the original discovery, and as you say the system is named after their instrument, but NASA absolutely was the force behind the new discoveries. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/18 "2017-02-23T06:41:59Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > You’re talking about the original discovery of three planets. The recent announcement added four more planets, and the observations were made from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. > > Of course the Belgians deserve full credit for the original discovery, and as you say the system is named after their instrument, but NASA absolutely was the force behind the new discoveries. Thanks for the clarification! Ignorance fought! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/19 "2017-02-23T12:38:51Z")
For names, I propose: **Doc Happy Grumpy Sleepy Sneezy Bashful Dopey**. Heck, it beats “George” ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2017, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494/20 "2017-02-23T12:44:25Z")
Great, now we’ll have them coming over every eighty years, asking to borrow stuff… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nasa-has-discovered-7-earth-like-planets-40-light-years-away/780494.md?page=2)