The scientific community went abuzz last month with NASA's discovery of the seven planet TRAPPIST 1 Star System. Only 39 light years away from our Sun, the system has three planets within the habitable zone, which raises the possibility that they could support liquid water - and life.
It would be an understatement to say that the star system is getting rockstar treatment because it is receiving more than that. In fact, a website has already been created to showcase the mysterious planets, which contains impressive digital art and fan fiction.
Despite the interest generated by the system's discovery, one question begs to be answered: what exactly do the planets in the TRAPPIST 1 Star System look like? We must keep in mind that these planets were detected using the Transit Method, wherein scientists measure dips in a star's light output as a planetary body crosses in front of our line of sight.
Although many have speculated on the physical features of the planets, it was difficult to describe their actual appearance. Until now.
On March 8, NASA finally revealed what the system looks like. While there is nothing breathtaking in the pixelated video image released by the space agency, it is a key discovery just the same.
All the raw, calibrated data on the system have already been released by NASA as part of the K2 mission. All the information were collected over a span of 74 days-from December 15th, 2016 to March 4th-by the space agency's Kepler spacecraft.
What Kepler did was to measure the dimming of the TRAPPIST 1's star as the seven Earth-sized planets passed in front of it, consequently blocking some of the light. This is the reason why the pixels in the image are flickering.
If you are wondering how the star system got its name? The answer: Beer.
Yes, a popular alcoholic beverage inspired the five Belgian scientists who discovered the TRAPPIST 1 to give it its hip name.
As if this was not enough, the researchers also nicknamed each exoplanet in the TRAPPIST 1 Star System after monastic Trappist beers such as Rochefort, Orval, and Westvleteren, which have been brewed for centuries.