NASA Launched A Website For TRAPPIST-1 Full Of Info, Art And Fanfiction
It's not every day that the public relations department at NASA gets to prepare the reveal of seven Earth-like planets, so they pulled out all the stops for today's announcement regarding the TRAPPIST-1 system. Right now you can visit trappist.one and explore a treasure-trove of content related to the newly-found solar system.
Here's the gist of the discovery: the TRAPPIST-1 system consists of seven planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool1 dwarf star about the size of Jupiter. These planets are closer to their star and to each other than the planets in our solar system. All seven could have liquid water, with three lying in the life-crucial habitable zone.
They're also relatively close to us (in the sense that 40 lightyears is close on a cosmic scale) which means they'll be easy to study as our observation technology improves. Simply put, "This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments," says Thomas Zubuchen associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in today's press release. "Places that are conducive to life."
Want to pick out your favorite TRAPPIST-1 planet? The new website has detailed information on each one (you know, in case density or orbital periods are deal breakers for you). Want a new desktop background or phone lock screen? They've made a bunch of attractive poster designs available for free. There's even a section that has stories, a comic, and a poem dedicated to the TRAPPIST-1 system — because everything on the internet needs fanfic.
If flights of fancy and cool JPEGs aren't your thing, you can also read up on SPECULOOS (not the cookie). As the follow-up to TRAPPIST-1 this upcoming research initiative that could reveal many more potentially habitable planets. Here's hoping they get all the funding they need.
Watch NASA's full announcement of TRAPPIST-1.
Interested in more stories about space? Check out our dedicated channel.