Discovery of 7 Earth-sized planets that may have life

On the morning of February 23, NASA announced a shocking discovery when they said they found at least 7 planets the size of Earth and located 40 light years away.

The BBC reports that NASA astronomers found the new planets using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and several other ground-based observatories.

The discovery of planets outside the Solar System is considered rare because the planets are similar in size to Earth and have temperatures that are not too harsh, ranging from 0 to 100 degrees Celsius. This means the new planets could have liquid water on their surfaces, a sign of life.

7 new planets are the same size as Earth and have temperatures that are not too harsh, ranging from 0 to 100 degrees Celsius. Photo: NASA.

The seven new exoplanets were all discovered orbiting a dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. It is cooler and redder than the Sun and slightly larger than Jupiter. Such stars are abundant in the Milky Way and live for a long time.

According to CNN, based on the weight assessment, the seven planets are made of rock instead of gas like Jupiter. Three planets, designated TRAPPIST-1e, TRAPPIST-1f and TRAPPIST-1g, may even have oceans on their surfaces.

The TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, in which planet f is thought to be the most likely to support life. Photo: NASA.

7 planets are 40 light years away from Earth. This distance is considered quite close to Earth in the vast Milky Way galaxy. However, with current spacecraft technology, it would take millions of years to get from Earth to this place.

However, in terms of scientific value, this discovery continues to affirm the effort to search for life outside the Solar System. Scientists believe that TRAPPIST-1f is the planet with the most potential to support life.

Previously, on February 20, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it would hold a press conference to announce the "discovery outside the Solar System" in the early afternoon of February 22 (ie 1:00 a.m. on February 23, Hanoi time).

According to a notice posted on NASA's website, the press conference will announce important findings about exoplanets, which are planets that do not orbit within the Solar System. NASA did not mention anything about "extraterrestrial life".

Meanwhile, the Telegraph said that exoplanets are the great hope of scientists in searching for traces of life outside Earth. They are particularly interested in planets with a distance from their central star similar to the distance from Earth to the Sun.

According to Zing