TRAPPIST-1e

TRAPPIST-1e
Artist's impression of TRAPPIST-1e from 2018, depicted here as a tidally locked planet with a liquid ocean. The actual appearance of the exoplanet is currently unknown, but based on its density, it is likely not entirely covered in water.
Discovery[1]
Discovered byMichaël Gillon et al.
Discovery siteSpitzer Space Telescope
Discovery date22 February 2017
Transit
Orbital characteristics[2]
0.02925±0.00025 AU
Eccentricity0.00510±0.00058[3]
6.101013±0.000035 d
Inclination89.793°±0.048°
108.37°±8.47°[3]
StarTRAPPIST-1[4]
Physical characteristics[2]
0.920+0.013
−0.012 R🜨
Mass0.692±0.022 M🜨
Mean density
4.885+0.168
−0.182 g/cm3
0.817±0.024 g
8.01±0.24 m/s2
TemperatureTeq: 249.7±2.4 K (−23.5 °C; −10.2 °F)[5]

TRAPPIST-1e, also designated as 2MASS J23062928-0502285 e, is a rocky, close-to-Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone around the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, located 40.7 light-years (12.5 parsecs; 385 trillion kilometers; 239 trillion miles) away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. Astronomers used the transit method to find the exoplanet, a method that measures the dimming of a star when a planet crosses in front of it.

The exoplanet was one of seven discovered orbiting the star using observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope.[1][6] Three of the seven (e, f, and g) are in the habitable zone/"goldilocks" zone.[7][8] TRAPPIST-1e is similar to Earth's mass, radius, density, gravity, temperature, and stellar flux.[3][9] It is also confirmed that TRAPPIST-1e lacks a cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, meaning it is more likely to have a compact atmosphere like the terrestrial planets in the Solar System.[10]

In November 2018, researchers determined that of the seven exoplanets in the multi-planetary system, TRAPPIST-1e has the best chance of being an Earth-like ocean planet, and the one most worthy of further study regarding habitability.[11] According to the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, TRAPPIST-1e is among the best potentially habitable exoplanets discovered.[12]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Gillon2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Agol2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Grimm-Demory-etal-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference vanGrootel-Fernandes-etal-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ducrot2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gillon-Jehin-etal-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ NASA (21 February 2017). "NASA telescope reveals largest batch of Earth-size, habitable-zone planets around single star". NASA.gov. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  8. ^ NASA; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (22 February 2017). "TRAPPIST-1 Planet Lineup". NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NASA. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Delrez-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference deWit-Wakeford-etal-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Kelley, Peter (21 November 2018). "Study brings new climate models of small star TRAPPIST 1's seven intriguing worlds". EurekAlert!. University of Washington. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  12. ^ "The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog". Planetary Habitability Laboratory @ UPR Arecibo (phl.upr.edu). University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2019.