Earth-Like Planets Discovered

Image: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov/internal_resources/479

TRAPPIST-1: Seven New Earth-Like Planets Discovered

New Earth Found!

TRAPPIST-1. Write this name down, because here in the near future, you might be considering this place for your next family vacation.

TRAPPIST-1 has 7 planets orbiting around it, of which, three planets can have liquid water and a temperature span sufficient for the genesis of life. Three 100% Earth type planets, 40 light years away from us! Converting the space distances into an understandable Earth equivalent, that distance is like going from Chicago to Miami. A long way to go, but still; not that long.

Dr. Chris Copperwheat, British astronomer and the international team co-leader from Liverpool John Moores University, said: “The discovery of multiple rocky planets with surface temperatures which allow for liquid water, make this amazing system an exciting future target in the search for life.”

It’s a shame Ray Bradbury didn’t live long enough to hear the news! I, for one, am so excited that I can only yell with delight. The planets haven’t been named yet; however, Michael Gillon, astronomer at the University of Liege, shares that the team had discussed naming them after Belgian beers. That’s not the right attitude, I’d say. I’d prefer Nordic gods, don’t you? I mean, Thor, Odin and their lot had fallen out of popularity by the time scientists discovered the Solar system planets, but it wasn’t their fault, really. I think, this is time to make up for such an injustice. After all, the Nordic gods were here as long as the Roman ones, perhaps even longer.

I am pretty sure that we’re now witnessing the intra-planet flights era arriving in our lifetime. Of course, we need engineers to quickly conjure an “Enterprise” before we can claim it, I suppose. The room, in which NASA scientists were telling us about the Trappist-1 system, looked like a spaceship control room. For example, they showed us an interactive board that did all the typical, yet magical things: like resize pictures, move them around, display drop out menus and play animations, all the while Nikole Lewis was enlightening us on planets’ landscapes and climates.

Talking of which, the board looked suspiciously like Surface Hub, to me. For those who may have missed the news, Surface Hub is the interactive board Microsoft is has recently launched. Looks a bit like Surface Studio on steroids, but minus Surface Dial and keyboard.

Microsoft has been vague about who has the first deal for getting Hubs. They use such phrases such as ‘gaining momentum’ and “Resellers worldwide have units” yet, seemingly give nothing away. They claim 1,500 units have shipped, but there are only 50 deals reported. Indeed, a Hub is scarcer to find than an exoplanet!

And these we’re going to find in plenty. Exoplanets are the planets which orbit around the stars other than the Sun.

Like foreign countries, only planets. But in space we don’t use the word ‘foreign’, instead, we say ‘exo-’. (I predict a lot of goods to get an exoplanet affix to their brands. It will be the next hot thing after 3D.) Robotic telescopes, like the Liverpool university telescope on a Canary island, are so precise nowadays, that they are capable of finding the smallest exoplanets, less than Mercury in size. And more telescopes are to be launched soon, thus boosting the locating of new exoplanets.

Perhaps, we should borrow one to find a Surface Hub on sale, for the general public, not just for corporations. Can it be that NASA was the one to purchase the Hub? The situation with this contraption is described as ‘already-stellar’ by the Surface team. Sounds like a clue to me, doesn’t it?