Speaker 1: Welcome to Bedtime Astronomy. Explore the wonders of the cosmos
Speaker 1: with our soothing Bedtime Astronomy podcast. Each episode offers a
Speaker 1: gentle journey through the stars, planets, and beyond, perfect for
Speaker 1: unwinding after a long day. Let's travel through the mysteries
Speaker 1: of the universe as you drift off into a peaceful
Speaker 1: slumber under the night sky. Trappist One unlocking the secrets
Speaker 1: of alien worlds. The Trappist One system, located approximately thirty
Speaker 1: nine light years away in the constellation Aquarius, stands as
Speaker 1: one of the most significant discoveries in the realm of
Speaker 1: modern astronomy. Named after the transiting planets and planetesimal small
Speaker 1: telescope trappist in Chile, which initially detected the first three
Speaker 1: planets within the system, one has captured the imagination of
Speaker 1: both scientists and the general public with its potential to
Speaker 1: host habitable worlds. This compact system consists of an ultra
Speaker 1: cool dwarf star and at least seven Earth sized planets,
Speaker 1: baking it an ideal target for in depth studies of
Speaker 1: exoplanets and the conditions necessary for life. Bicentral star trappest
Speaker 1: One is markedly smaller and cooler than our Sun. Classified
Speaker 1: as ann eight type red dwarf, it boasts only about
Speaker 1: eight percent of the Sun's mass and eleven percent of
Speaker 1: its radius. Despite its small size, trappest One's gravitational influence
Speaker 1: is substantial enough to maintain seven tightly packed planets in
Speaker 1: close orbits. The star's relatively cool temperature results in a
Speaker 1: habitable zone that is much closer to the star are
Speaker 1: compared to our Solar system. This close proximity produces a
Speaker 1: highly compact system where all seven planets have orbital periods
Speaker 1: ranging from just one point five to twelve point four days.
Speaker 1: The discovery of the Trappist One planets was a gradual,
Speaker 1: meticulous process that began with the detection of the first
Speaker 1: three planets in twenty sixteen using the Trappist telescope. This
Speaker 1: initial finding spurred further observations with more advanced instruments, including
Speaker 1: the Spitzer Space Telescope, which confirmed the existence of four
Speaker 1: additional planets in twenty seventeen. These discoveries were made using
Speaker 1: the transit method, which involves monitoring the star's brightness for
Speaker 1: periodic dips caused by planets passing in front of it.
Speaker 1: The regularity of these transits enabled to sh astronomers to
Speaker 1: determine the sizes, masses, and orbital periods of the planets
Speaker 1: with remarkable precision. The seven planets in the trappest One
Speaker 1: system are designated trappest One, B, C, D, E, F, G,
Speaker 1: and H according to their distance from the star. They
Speaker 1: vary in size, ranging from slightly smaller to slightly larger
Speaker 1: than Earth. One of the most compelling aspects of this
Speaker 1: system is that three of the planets, trappest One, E, F,
Speaker 1: and G are situated within the star's habitable zone, where
Speaker 1: conditions might allow liquid water to exist on their surfaces.
Speaker 1: Dispositioning makes trappest One one of the most promising places
Speaker 1: to search for signs of habitability and potentially even life
Speaker 1: beyond our Solar system. The trappest One planets are believed
Speaker 1: to be rocky akin to Earth based on their sizes
Speaker 1: and densities. The densities of the planets have been measured
Speaker 1: through a combination of transit observations and radial velocity measurements,
Speaker 1: which detect the gravitational influence of the planets on the star.
Speaker 1: The data suggests that these planets have compositions that could
Speaker 1: include water, either in the form of liquid oceans or
Speaker 1: thick ice layers. This possibility has profound implications for their
Speaker 1: potential habitability, as water is a critical ingredient for life
Speaker 1: as we know it. The compact nature of the trappist
Speaker 1: One system means that the planets experience significant gravitational interactions
Speaker 1: with one another, leading to tidal forces that can affect
Speaker 1: their rotation and internal heating. Iidle locking is expected to
Speaker 1: be common in this system, meaning that each planet always
Speaker 1: shows the same face to the star, similar to how
Speaker 1: the Moon always shows the same face to Earth. This
Speaker 1: could result in extreme temperature differences between the day and
Speaker 1: night sides of the planets, potentially influencing their climates and habitability.
Speaker 1: Despite the challenges posed by tidal locking, theoretical models suggest
Speaker 1: that the trappest One planets could still be habitable. If
Speaker 1: the planets have substantial atmospheres, heat could be distributed more
Speaker 1: evenly around the planet, mitigating temperature extremes. Additionally, the presence
Speaker 1: of oceans could help to transport heat through currents, further
Speaker 1: stabilizing the climate. The composition of the planet's atmospheres will
Speaker 1: play a crucial role in determining their habitability. Greenhouse gases
Speaker 1: such as carbon dioxide and water vapor could help to
Speaker 1: retain heat and create more temperate conditions. The study of
Speaker 1: the Trappist I system has been a focal point for
Speaker 1: astronomers using both ground based and space based telescopes. The
Speaker 1: Hubble Space Telescope has conducted observations to search for atmospheres
Speaker 1: around the planets, particularly focusing on the potential presence of hydrogen,
Speaker 1: which could indicate a primordial atmosphere. While initial results have
Speaker 1: not detected extensive hydrogen atmospheres, they have ruled out certain
Speaker 1: types of thick hydrogenominated atmospheres, suggesting that the planets may
Speaker 1: have more Earth like atmospheres. The James Web Space Telescope
Speaker 1: JWST has provided significant insights into the Trappist One System,
Speaker 1: a collection of seven Earth sized exoplanets orbiting an ultracol
Speaker 1: dwarf star about thirty nine light years away. JWST's advanced
Speaker 1: instruments have enabled astronomers to probe the atmospheres and surface
Speaker 1: conditions of these intriguing worlds with unprecedented precision. One of
Speaker 1: the key discoveries involves Trappist One B, the innermost planet.
Speaker 1: JWST used its mid infrared instrument MIRI to perform secondary
Speaker 1: eclipse photometry, a technique that measures the drop in light
Speaker 1: as the planet moves behind its star. This allows scientists
Speaker 1: to calculate the planet's temperature in indirectly its atmospheric composition.
Speaker 1: The observation suggest that Trappist one B has a temperature
Speaker 1: of a round five hundred kelvins about two hundred and
Speaker 1: twenty seven degrees celsius, indicating it as a bare rocky
Speaker 1: surface with no significant atmosphere to distribute heat from the
Speaker 1: day side to the night side. This lack of a
Speaker 1: thick atmosphere suggests that Trappist one BE may not be
Speaker 1: able to support life as we know it. Similarly, Trappist
Speaker 1: one Sea, another planet in the system, has shown signs
Speaker 1: of either a very thin atmosphere or none at all.
Speaker 1: JWST's observations revealed that Trappist One Sea lacks the expected
Speaker 1: infrared absorption that would indicate the presence of carbon dioxide,
Speaker 1: suggesting it is likely a bare rock with a minimal
Speaker 1: or non existent atmosphere. This finding is crucial as it
Speaker 1: challenges previous assumptions that planets in such close orbits around
Speaker 1: their star could retain substantial atmospheres. These discoveries underscore the
Speaker 1: harsh conditions faced by planets orbiting red dwarfs like Trappist One.
Speaker 1: Red dwarfs emit intense ultraviolet and X ray radiation, which
Speaker 1: can strip away planetary atmospheres, making it difficult for these
Speaker 1: worlds to maintain environments conducive to life. The JWST's ability
Speaker 1: to detect and analyze such fine details in exoplanetary systems
Speaker 1: marks a significant leap forward in our understanding of planetary
Speaker 1: formation and habitability in the universe. The discovery of the
Speaker 1: trappist I system has sparked a wave of research and exploration,
Speaker 1: inspiring scientists to develop new models and theories to understand
Speaker 1: these distant worlds. The system serves as a natural laboratory
Speaker 1: for study planetary formation and evolution in compact systems, providing
Speaker 1: a unique opportunity to test and refine our understanding of
Speaker 1: how planets form and evolve around low mass stars. The
Speaker 1: insights gained from studying Trappist One will inform our broader
Speaker 1: understanding of exoplanetary systems and the conditions necessary for habitability.
Speaker 1: The potential habitability of the trappest One planets has profound
Speaker 1: implications for the search for life beyond Earth. The fact
Speaker 1: that multiple Earth sized planets exist within the habitable zone
Speaker 1: of a single star suggests that such systems could be
Speaker 1: common in the galaxy. If planets like those in the
Speaker 1: Trappiest One system are prevalent, it would significantly increase the
Speaker 1: likelihood of finding other habitable worlds and potentially even life
Speaker 1: elsewhere in the universe. The public's fascination with the Trappist
Speaker 1: One System reflects a broader curiosity about our place in
Speaker 1: the cosmos and the possibility of life beyond our solar system.
Speaker 1: The discovery of these distant worlds has captured the imagination
Speaker 1: of people around the world, prompting a renewed interest in
Speaker 1: space exploration. In the search for exoplanets, the trappist One
Speaker 1: System has become a symbol of the potential for discovery
Speaker 1: and the excitement of exploring the unknown. In conclusion, the
Speaker 1: trappist One System represents a milestone in the field of
Speaker 1: exoplanet research. Its unique configuration, with seven Earth sized planets
Speaker 1: in close orbits around an ultracol dwarf star, offers a
Speaker 1: wealth of opportunities to study planetary formation evolution and habitability.
Speaker 1: The discovery of multiple potentially habitable planets within a single
Speaker 1: system has profound implications for our understanding of the universe
Speaker 1: and the search for life beyond Earth. Betrappest One System,
Speaker 1: with its intriguing planets, symbolizes the spirit of exploration and
Speaker 1: the pursuit of knowledge that drives us to look beyond
Speaker 1: our own world and seek our place in the vast
Speaker 1: universe to be