This illustration shows two Earth-sized worlds passing in front of their parent red dwarf star, which is much smaller and cooler than our sun. The planets, TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c, reside 40 light-years away. They are between 20 and 100 times closer to their star than Earth is to the sun. Researchers think that at least one of the planets, and possibly both, may be within the star's habitable zone, where moderate temperatures could allow for liquid water on the surface. Hubble looked for evidence of extended atmospheres around both planets and didn't find anything. This leaves open the possibility the planets have thinner, denser atmospheres like Earth's.
Credits
Illustration: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI);Science: NASA, ESA, and J. de Wit (MIT)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Trappist-1 System, TRAPPIST-1, 2MASS J23062928-0502285 |
| Object Description | Exoplanet System |
| R.A. Position | 23h 6m 29.27s |
| Dec. Position | -5° 2' 28.59" |
| Constellation | Aquarius |
| Distance | 39 light-years (12 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data were provided by the HST proposal : J. de Wit (MIT), M. Gillon and A. Burdanov (University of Liège, Belgium), A. Burgasser (UCSD), L. Delrez (University of Liège, Belgium), B.-O. Demory (U. Cambridge), E. Jehin (University of Liège, Belgium), S. Lederer (NASA/Johnson Space Center), N. Lewis (STScI), P. Magain (University of Liège, Belgium), and D. Queloz and A. Triaud (U. Cambridge). The science team also includes: V. Van Grootel (University of Liège, Belgium), C. Opitom (University of Liège, Belgium), D. Sahu (Indian Institute of Astrophysics), and D. Gagliuffi (UCSD). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | May 4, 2016 |
| Filters | Gratings: G141 grism |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
