The planets discovered are similar in size to Earth and are temperate, according to NASA astronomers who spoke at a press conference this afternoon. The exoplanets orbit a star called TRAPPIST-1, which is named after the telescope located in Chile used to find the seven planets. The star and the exoplanets are only about 40 light years or 235 trillion miles away from Earth.
Why this matters: These seven planets could potentially host life since they have equilibrium temperatures low enough to have liquid water on their surfaces. Three of them (TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g) are within the habitable zone of the star, and these three may even have oceans. This is the first opportunity to search for signs of biological life outside of the solar system, according to the NYT.
