Astronomers find Earth-like planets capable of hosting water

New studies show that the seven planets orbiting the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 are made mostly of rock, and some could hold more water than Earth.

The quest to see if there's life in other solar systems led to the astonishing discovery over a year ago of seven Earth-sized planets around TRAPPIST-1, an ultra-cool dwarf star less than 40 light years from Earth. The scientists who made this remarkable find then went on to further explore the secrets of these planets, resulting in a number of new studies that give insight into their nature and make-up.

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Credit: Angel Soler Gollonet, Shutterstock

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This artist’s impression video compares the seven planets orbiting the ultra-cool red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 at the same scale.

New observations, when combined with very sophisticated analysis, have now yielded good estimates of the densities of all seven of the Earth-sized planets and suggest that they are rich in volatile materials, probably water.