Universe  Planets and Moons  ID: 30870

TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets Comparison to Our Solar System

All seven planets discovered in orbit around the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 could easily fit inside the orbit of Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system. In fact, they would have room to spare. TRAPPIST-1 also is only a fraction of the size of our sun; it isn’t much larger than Jupiter. So the TRAPPIST-1 system’s proportions look more like Jupiter and its moons than those of our solar system.

The seven planets of TRAPPIST-1 are all Earth-sized and terrestrial, according to research published in 2017 in the journal Nature. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf star in the constellation Aquarius, and its planets orbit very close to it.

The system has been revealed through observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the ground-based TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) telescope, as well as other ground-based observatories. The system was named for the TRAPPIST telescope.
 

Related


For More Information

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6290-ssc2017-01g-TRAPPIST-1-Comparison-to-Solar-System-and-Jovian-Moons


Credits

Amy Moran (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, T. Pyle (IPAC)

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/30870

Keywords:
SVS >> Hyperwall
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons
NASA Science >> Universe