VIDEO: Seven new planets discovered by NASA - what are they and do they have life?

Seven Earth-sized planets have been observed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope around a nearby star.

Three of these planets are firmly in the 'habitable zone' - considered the perfect conditions in a solar system to harness life.

This discovery outside of our solar system is rare because the planets have the combination of being similar in size to Earth and being all temperate, meaning they could have water on their surfaces and potentially support life.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"This is the first time that so many planets of this kind are found around the same star," said Michaël Gillon, lead study author and astronomer at the University of Liège in Belgium.

Over 21 days, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope measured the drop in light as each planet passed in front of the star.

Spitzer was able to identify a total of seven rocky worlds, including three in the habitable zone, where liquid water might be found.

The video features interviews with Sean Carey, manager of the Spitzer Science Center, Caltech/IPAC; Nikole Lewis, James Webb Space Telescope project scientist, Space Telescope Science Institute; and Michaël Gillon, principal investigator, TRAPPIST, University of Liege, Belgium.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

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.