TRAPPIST-1e

Coordinates: 23h 06m 29.283s, −05° 02′ 28.59″

TRAPPIST-1e, also designated as 2MASS J23062928-

0502285 e, is a rocky, close-to-Earth-sized exoplanet
TRAPPIST-1e
orbiting within the habitable zone around the ultracool dwarf
star TRAPPIST-1, located 40.7 light-years (12.5 parsecs;
385 trillion kilometers; 239 trillion miles) away from Earth in
the constellation of Aquarius. Astronomers used the transit
method to find the exoplanet, a method that measures the
dimming of a star when a planet crosses in front of it.

The exoplanet was one of seven discovered orbiting the star

using observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope.[1][6]
Three of the seven (e, f, and g) are in the habitable zone or
the "goldilocks zone".[7][8] TRAPPIST-1e is similar to
Earth's mass, radius, density, gravity, temperature, and stellar
Artist's impression of TRAPPIST-1e from
flux.[3][9] It is also confirmed that TRAPPIST-1e lacks a
2018, depicted here as a tidally locked
cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, meaning it is
more likely to have a compact atmosphere like the terrestrial planet with a liquid ocean. The actual
appearance of the exoplanet is currently
planets in the Solar System.[10]
unknown, but based on its density, it is
In November 2018, researchers determined that of the seven likely not entirely covered in water.
exoplanets in the multi-planetary system, TRAPPIST-1e has Discovery[1]
the best chance of being an Earth-like ocean planet, and the
one most worthy of further study regarding habitability.[11] Discovered by Michaël Gillon et al.
According to the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, TRAPPIST- Discovery site Spitzer Space
1e is among the best potentially habitable exoplanets Telescope
discovered.[12] Discovery date 22 February 2017
Detection Transit
Physical characteristics method
Orbital characteristics[2]

Mass, radius, composition and Semi-major 0.029 25 ± 0.000 25 AU

axis
temperature
Eccentricity 0.00510 ± 0.00058[3]
TRAPPIST-1e was detected with the transit method, where Orbital period 6.101 013 ± 0.000 035 d
the planet blocked a small percentage of its host star's light (sidereal)
when passing between it and Earth. This allowed scientists Inclination 89.793° ± 0.048°
to accurately determine the planet's radius at 0.920 R🜨, with
Argument of 108.37° ± 8.47°[3]
a small uncertainty of about 83 km (52 mi). Transit-timing periastron
variations and advanced computer simulations helped
Star TRAPPIST-1[4]
constrain the planet's mass, which turned out to be
0.692 M🜨, or about 15% less massive than Venus.[2] Physical characteristics[2]
Mean radius +0.013
0.920 −0.012 R🜨
TRAPPIST-1e has 82% the surface gravity of Earth, the Mass 0.692 ± 0.022 M🜨
third-lowest in the system. Its radius and mass are also the +0.168
Mean density 4.885 −0.182 g/cm3
third-least among the TRAPPIST-1 planets.[2]
Surface 0.817 ± 0.024 g
With both the radius and mass of TRAPPIST-1e determined gravity 8.01 ± 0.24 m/s2
with low error margins, scientists could accurately calculate
the planet's density, surface gravity, and composition. Initial Temperature Teq: 249.7 ± 2.4 K
density estimates in 2018 suggested it has a density of (−23.5 °C; −10.2 °F)[5]
5.65 g/cm3 , about 1.024 times Earth's density of 5.51 g/cm3 .
TRAPPIST-1e appeared to be unusual in its system, as it was the only planet with a density consistent with
a pure rock-iron composition, and the only one with a higher density than Earth (TRAPPIST-1c also
appeared to be entirely rock, but with a lower density than TRAPPIST-1e). The higher density of
TRAPPIST-1e implies an Earth-like composition and a solid rocky surface. This also appeared to be
unusual among the TRAPPIST-1 planets, as most were thought to have densities consistent with being
completely covered in either a thick steam/hot CO2 atmosphere, a global liquid ocean, or an ice shell.[3]
However, refined estimates show that all planets in the system have similar densities, consistent with rocky
compositions, with TRAPPIST-1e having a somewhat lower but still Earth-like bulk density.[2]

The planet has a calculated equilibrium temperature of 246.1 K (−27.1 °C; −16.7 °F) given an albedo of 0,
also known as its "blackbody" temperature.[9] For a more realistic Earth-like albedo however, this provides
an unrealistic picture of the surface temperature of the planet. Earth's equilibrium temperature is 255 K;[13]
it is Earth's greenhouse gases that raise its surface temperatures to the levels we experience. If TRAPPIST-
1e has a thick atmosphere, its surface could be much warmer than its equilibrium temperature.

Host star

The planet orbits an (late M-type) ultracool dwarf star named TRAPPIST-1. The star has a mass of 0.089
M☉ – near the boundary between a brown dwarf and low-mass star – and a radius of 0.121 R☉ . It has a
temperature of 2,516 K (2,243 °C; 4,069 °F) and is 7.6 billion years old. In comparison, the Sun is
4.6 billion years old[14] and has a temperature of 5,778 K (5,505 °C; 9,941 °F).[15] The star is metal-rich,
with a metallicity ([Fe/H]) of 0.04, or 109% the solar amount. This is particularly odd as such low-mass
stars near the boundary between brown dwarfs and hydrogen-fusing stars should be expected to have
considerably less metal content than the Sun. Its luminosity (L☉ ) is 0.0522% of that of the Sun.

The star's apparent magnitude, or how bright it appears from Earth's perspective, is 18.8. Therefore, it is far
too dim to be seen with the naked eye.

Orbit

TRAPPIST-1e orbits its host star quite closely. One full revolution around TRAPPIST-1 takes only
6.099 Earth days (~146 hours) to complete. It orbits at a distance of 0.02928285 AU (4.4 million km;
2.7 million mi), or just under 3% the separation between Earth and the Sun. For comparison, the closest
planet in the Solar System, Mercury, takes 88 days to orbit the Sun at a distance of 0.38 AU (57 million km;
35 million mi). Despite its close proximity to its host star, TRAPPIST-1e gets only about 60% the starlight
that Earth gets from the Sun due to the low luminosity of its star. The star would cover an angular diameter
of about 2.17 degrees from the surface of the planet, and so would appear about four times larger than the
Sun does from Earth.

Atmosphere

TRAPPIST-1e is confirmed to not have a cloud-free hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, meaning it is more

likely to have a compact, hydrogen-free atmosphere like those of the Solar System's rocky planets, further
raising the chances of habitability. Hydrogen is a powerful greenhouse gas, so if there was enough to be
easily detected, it would mean that the surface of TRAPPIST-1e would be inhospitable.[10] Since such an
atmosphere is not present, it raises the chances for the planet to have a more Earth-like atmosphere instead.
However, no atmosphere has been detected, and it is still possible that the planet has no atmosphere at all.
Additionally, no helium emission from TRAPPIST-1e was detected as of 2021.[16]

Habitability
The exoplanet was announced to be orbiting within the
habitable zone of its parent star, the region where, with the
correct conditions and atmospheric properties, liquid water
may exist on the surface of the planet. TRAPPIST-1e has
a radius of around 0.91 R🜨, so it is likely a rocky planet.
Its host star is a red ultracool dwarf, with only about 8% of
the mass of the Sun (close to the boundary between brown
dwarfs and hydrogen-fusing stars). As a result, stars like
TRAPPIST-1 have the potential to remain stable for up to
12 trillion years, which is over 2,000 times longer than the
Artist's impression of the TRAPPIST-1
Sun.[17] Because of this ability to live for such a long
system, seen from above the surface of one
period of time, it is likely TRAPPIST-1 will be one of the
of the planets in the habitable zone
last remaining stars in the Universe, when the gas needed
to form new stars will be exhausted, and the existing stars
begin to die off.

Other factors and 2018 studies

Despite being likely tidally locked – meaning one hemisphere permanently faces the star while the other
does not – which may reduce the habitability of the planet, more detailed studies of TRAPPIST-1e and the
other TRAPPIST-1 planets released in 2018 determined that the planet is one of the most Earth-sized
worlds found, with 91% the radius, 77% the mass, 102.4% the density (5.65 g/cm3 ), and 93% the surface
gravity. TRAPPIST-1e is confirmed to be a terrestrial planet with a solid, rocky surface. It is cool enough
for liquid water to pool on the surface, but not so cold that it would freeze like on TRAPPIST-1f, g, and
h.[3]

The planet receives a stellar flux 60.4% that of Earth, about a third lower than that of Earth but significantly
more than that of Mars.[9] Its equilibrium temperature ranges from 225 K (−48 °C; −55 °F)[18] to 246.1 K
(−27.1 °C; −16.7 °F),[9] depending on how much light the planet reflects into space. Both of these are
between those of Earth and Mars as well. In addition, its atmosphere is confirmed to not be dense or thick
enough to harm the habitability potential as well, according to models by the University of Washington.[10]
The atmosphere, if it is dense enough, may also help to transfer additional heat to the dark side of the
planet.

Future observations

As it is one of the most promising potentially habitable exoplanets known, TRAPPIST-1e will be an early
target of the James Webb Space Telescope in a research program led by Nikole Lewis. Launched on
25 December 2021, the telescope will allow more extensive analysis of the planet's atmosphere, facilitating
the search for any chemical signs of life, or biosignatures.[19]

Discovery
A team of astronomers headed by Michaël Gillon[20] used the TRAPPIST (Transiting Planets and
Planetesimals Small Telescope) telescope at the La Silla Observatory in the Atacama desert, Chile,[21] to
observe TRAPPIST-1 and search for orbiting planets. By utilising transit photometry, they discovered three
Earth-sized planets orbiting the dwarf star; the innermost two are tidally locked to their host star while the
outermost appears to lie either within the system's habitable zone or just outside of it.[22][23] The team made
their observations from September–December 2015 and published its findings in the May 2016 issue of the
journal Nature.[21][6]

The original claim and presumed size of the

planet was revised when the full seven-planet
system was revealed in 2017:

"We already knew that TRAPPIST-1, a

small, faint star some 40 light years away,
was special. In May 2016, a team led by
Michaël Gillon at Belgium’s University of
Liege announced it was closely orbited by
three planets that are probably rocky:
Artist's impression of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary TRAPPIST-1b, c and d ...
system. "As the team kept watching shadow after
shadow cross the star, three planets no
longer seemed like enough to explain the
pattern. "At some point we could not make sense of all these transits," Gillon said.
"Now, after using the space-based Spitzer telescope to stare at the system for almost three
weeks straight, Gillon and his team have solved the problem: TRAPPIST-1 has four more
planets.
"The planets closest to the star, TRAPPIST-1b and c, are unchanged. But there's a new
third planet, which has taken the d moniker, and what had looked like d before turned out
to be glimpses of e, f, and g. There's a planet h, too, drifting farthest out, and only spotted
once."[24]
Gallery

Videos

Video (01:32) – Artistic Video (01:10) – Fly-

representation of around animation of the
TRAPPIST-1 planets of the
exoplanets transiting TRAPPIST-1 system,
their host star. including TRAPPIST-
1e.

See also
List of extrasolar candidates for liquid water
List of potentially habitable exoplanets
List of transiting exoplanets

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