MIT Astronomers Find Three Nearby Earth-Like Planets

 MIT Astronomers Detect 3 Nearby 'Earth-Like' Planets by Jon Butler | May 06, 2016 | 06:28 "The kind of planets we've found are very exciting from the perspective of searching for life in the universe beyond Earth", said Adam Burgasser, a professor of physics at UC San Diego's Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences and a key participant of the global team, in a statement. "Habitable zones" are the distance scientists believe planets must be from their stars where they could have water on the surface and the temperature to sustain life, noted CNN. Using the 60-centimeter (24-inch) telescope TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) in Chile, astronomers have discovered three Earth-like exoplanets orbiting a dwarf star in the galaxy TRAPPIST-1. According to Gillon, with such short orbital periods, the planets are between 20 and 100 times closer to its star than the Earth. Astronomers were conducting a test survey of an ultra-cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1 located in the constellation Aquarius. Findings of the study were published Monday in the journal Nature. That means if life is hiding on these three planets, it'll be easier to find signs of it. A team of astronomers has recently discovered three habitable alien planets that have Earth-like qualities. So, I'm quite optimistic about this especially for the third one, which is the furthest from the star. Scientists looking for life outside our solar system could be one step closer to their goal. Despite being so close to the Earth, this star is too dim and too red to be seen with the naked eye or even visually with a large amateur telescope. "This really is a paradigm shift with regards to the planet population and the path towards finding life in the Universe", study co-author Emmanuël Jehin said in a European Southern Observatory release. Researchers are still trying to work out the orbit of the third exoplanet, but it likely receives less radiation than Earth - yet still enough to create a livable planet. "These planets are Earth-sized, they are temperate - we can't rule out the fact that they are habitable - and they are well-suited for atmospheric studies", says Julien de Wit, a researcher at MIT. Further analysis confirmed that they were exoplanets - planets revolving around stars outside our solar system. This makes the planets closer to TRAPPIST-1 than we are to the sun. That's not slang. The three newly discovered planets rotate around a star that's cooler, smaller and dimmer than our sun. Also, because they are only 40 light years away, scientists will be able to conduct further research about the composition and characteristics of the said alien planets. Because of the star's size and dimness, it won't drown out these planetary signals, allowing scientists to get a better look. - See more at: http://nriworld.net/2016/05/mit-astronomers-detect-3-nearby-earth-like-planets/#sthash.eFIUVZ3W.dpuf The Indian Panorama http://nriworld.net/2016/05/mit-astronomers-detect-3-nearby-earth-like-planets/