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TRAPPIST-1 Comparison to Solar System and Jovian Moons

NASA/JPL-Caltech2017-02-22

NASA

NASA
Washington, DC, United States

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.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21428

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  • Title: TRAPPIST-1 Comparison to Solar System and Jovian Moons
  • Creator: NASA/JPL-Caltech
  • Date Created: 2017-02-22
  • Rights: JPL
  • Album: kboggs
NASA

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