The search for alien life just got a lot more exciting. Scientists have discovered seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a single star that could potentially support life. That’s the most ever found in one star system.
All seven exoplanets—planets found beyond our solar system—appear to be rocky like Earth. They orbit a small, dim star named TRAPPIST-1. The star is located about 39 light-years from Earth, a distance equal to about 370 trillion kilometers (230 trillion miles). Three of the exoplanets lie within the star’s habitable zone, the region where temperatures range between 0°C and 100°C (32°F and 212°F). Those conditions are ideal for the formation of liquid water—a necessity for life as we know it.
“Answering the question ‘Are we alone?’ is a top science priority,” says Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. “Finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone of one star is a remarkable step toward that goal.”