Nasa telescope spots ‘7-planet solar system’ that could have habitable worlds

NASA’S massive space telescope has found a bunch of planets that could well be suitable for life.

Experts have got their first glimpse of seven planets orbiting their Sun, known as TRAPPIST-1.

2

But don’t get packing your bags just yet, the group are located 39 light-years from Earth.

The space agency’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was able to spot them and found some fascinating details.

The most noteworthy being that they’re within the star’s habitable zone where there may well be liquid water.

This, of course, is one of the important things needed for a planet to be able to support living organisms.

It’s too soon to know for sure but scientists expect to have a better idea within the coming months and years thanks to James Webb’s incredible ability to detect stuff we’ve never seen before in space.

This includes things like carbon dioxide or methane, which are also a big hint.

The seven planets are all closer than Mercury is to the Sun, the closest planet to it in our solar system.

But TRAPPIST-1 is pretty cool for a star.

They’re much smaller planets too.

“We’re in business,” Björn Benneke, an astronomer at the University of Montreal said, reports Nature.

Knicole Colón, an astronomer at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center who isn’t involved in the work commented: “We needed this first look to know what we’re dealing with.

“Within the next year we’ll have a family portrait.”

James Webb Space Telescope

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on December 25, 2021.

It’s the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope and it cost around $10billion (£7.3billion).

JWST currently orbits Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), which is about 930,000 miles from Earth in the direction of Mars.

There, the telescope scours the night sky for faint infrared light, which could be visible from the first generation of stars and galaxies.

It’s already uncovered some extraordinary sights.

In July, US President Joe Biden unveiled the deepest and sharpest infrared image of the distant universe to date taken by the telescope.

2

Best Phone and Gadget tips and hacks

Looking for tips and hacks for your phone? Want to find those secret features within social media apps? We have you covered…