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TRAPPIST 1e
TRAPPIST 1e
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
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.
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]
Videos
See also
List of extrasolar candidates for liquid water
List of potentially habitable exoplanets
List of transiting exoplanets
References
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