- Carl Sagan (from Contact) astronomer, author
On May 2nd another significant discovery in the field of astronomy was announced by international researchers including those representing The University of Liege of Belgium and MIT in the US. https://whereis.mit.edu/ Three planets the size of Earth were found orbiting what is known as an ultracool dwarf star. The planets were detected 40 light years away using TRAPPIST a 60 centimeter telescope based in Chile. Belgian scientists designed TRAPPIST to monitor dwarf stars at infrared wavelengths and searches for planets around them. One particular planet is named TRAPPIST 1. Due to their relatively close proximity researchers in decades to come may be able to determine what atmospheric conditions exist and whether the planets are habitable. Read detailed research information here: http://www.nature.com/index.html or
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature17448.html and check out the brief video above.
