• Question: which of the 7 new planets can sustain life?

    Asked by DJSemiH to Lucy, Hannah on 9 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Lucy Kissick

      Lucy Kissick answered on 9 Mar 2017:

      In the seven known planets of the Trappist-1 solar system, three of them (E, F, and G) are in the ‘habitable zone’ where water would be liquid. This is a really iffy term though, because so many factors affect whether water is liquid: an outer planet with a thick protective atmosphere might keep its surface warm and pressured enough for water, or a planet in the ‘habitable zone’ might actually be covered in lava and be quite horrible for life.

      When the James Webb Space Telescope launches next year, it will be able to peer at these planets and see what their atmospheres are made of. This will go a long way in learning how habitable they really are.

    • Photo: Hannah Sargeant

      Hannah Sargeant answered on 12 Mar 2017:

      one extra thing that is quite important about those three planets is that they are probably ‘tidally locked’. That means that the same side of the planet is always facing the sun. That means that one side is super hot and one side is super cold and it would have crazy weather!

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