Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2018

MARCH-APRIL 2018 T his infographic compares the TRAPPIST-1 plane- tary system with the inner Solar Sys- tem and the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter. Left, this diagram compares the masses and energy input of the seven TRAPPIST-1 plan- ets, along with the properties of the four innermost Solar System plan- ets. [NASA/JPL- Caltech] of the first three planets. Then again a year ago (2017; 2), when we reported the discovery of the other four, and the possi- bility that above some water may exist and therefore an environment perhaps favour- able to life as we know it. Now, we want to give an update on the leading news concerning the system in the last year, in- cluding the most recent and exciting stud- ies published in specialised magazines. We were left with uncertainties regarding the distance from the star of the outermost