Trappist 1 Update for 02/18/2018 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Recent research suggests that the Trappist - 1 planets may have the potential for life due to the effects of cometary impacts and the presence of water reservoirs.

Key Insights

• 🤩 Red dwarf stars undergo a period of instability early in their lives, posing challenges for the potential habitability of planets within their habitable zones.
• 💦 Previous assumptions about the Trappist - 1 planets' unsuitability for life may be challenged by considering factors such as cometary impacts and the presence of water reservoirs.
• 🌍 The origin and development of life on Earth remain uncertain, making it difficult to determine if it occurs similarly on other worlds.
• 🤨 The Trappist - 1 planets' proximity to each other and the possibility of panspermia raise the likelihood of related life being present on multiple worlds.
• 🥶 Observation suggests that the outermost planets of the Trappist - 1 system may have surfaces different from dead rocky ones, potentially indicating the presence of oceans, ice, or ice shells with subsurface oceans.
• 🚾 Trappist - 1d is considered the closest Earth analogue found so far, with the potential for a habitable atmosphere and the existence of liquid water.
• 🥺 The ongoing study of the Trappist - 1 planets may lead to further insights and possible revisions regarding their habitability.

Transcript

One of the more interesting recent exoplanet discoveries was that of a system of seven terrestrial planets in orbit around the star Trappist - 1, see the dedicated playlist in the end screen for the back story. Some of these planets, as many as six, could be within their star’s habitable zone depending on you define that zone. But as astronomers su... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: Why were the Trappist - 1 planets initially believed to be unlikely candidates for life?

Red dwarf stars like Trappist - 1 are volatile early in their lives, and their habitable zone planets receive high levels of UV radiation and flares, making it difficult for them to retain atmospheres and liquid water.

Q: How could cometary impacts contribute to the potential for life on the Trappist - 1 planets?

Cometary impacts could deliver water and organics, triggering mutations and driving evolution. These impacts might have played a role in the delivery of chemical building blocks of life to Earth, and similar comets in the Trappist - 1 system could have done the same.

Q: What role does water play in the possibility of life on the Trappist - 1 planets?

If the Trappist - 1 planets formed far from their star and migrated in, they could have started with a large amount of water on their surfaces. Liquid water can insulate organisms from UV radiation, and comets could continuously deliver more water to the planets.

Q: How does the prediction of the planets being tidally locked affect the potential for life?

Tidally locked planets would have nightsides that provide protection against the star's UV radiation. If the outermost planets had sufficient water and cometary impacts destroyed the oceans, it could create a situation similar to Earth where liquid water exists but doesn't entirely cover the surface.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Trappist - 1 star system consists of seven terrestrial planets, with potentially six in the habitable zone, but it was believed that their volatile nature and high levels of ultraviolet light make life formation unlikely.

• A new study proposes that cometary impacts and the presence of water could increase the chances of life on the outermost planets of the system.

• The possibility of liquid water, protection against UV radiation, and potential for panspermia between neighboring planets suggest a more favorable environment for life on the Trappist - 1 planets.