Trapppist-1d, the third planet from the star, is where things start to get more interesting. This planet is in the inner part of its star's habitable zone and is a small, rocky planet similar to Earth, but about half the size; it is thought to have a somewhat Earth-like temperature and water on its surface. However, there is a very critical problem with possibility of Trappist-1d having life: It has a ridiculous amount of water. In fact, it is thought that up to 5% of its mass is water. That's more than enough to cover the planet in a world-wide ocean. If it is true that life can only arise in tidal pools, Trappist-1d cannot support life, unless it traveled there from another planet via panspermia. If life arises from hydrothermal vents, the chances of life on Trappist-1d increase, but there is still a problem. Once an ocean reaches a certain depth, the pressure becomes great enough to compress water into ice; this covers the seafloor in a layer of ice, preventing it from coming in contact with liquid water. It is possible that Trappist-1d suffers from this. However, it is also possible that the planet's ocean is shallow enough to avoid this. Trappist-1d definitely has the possibility of being habitable, but it is most likely a water world. Even knowing this, Trappist-1d is still an exciting planet.
Trappist-1e is, in my opinion, the best candidate for extraterrestrial life we know of. Unlike Trappist-1d, it is actually denser than Earth. This is great news, because the problem with other planets in the Trappist-1 system, such as Trappist-1d, is that they are not very dense, implying that they have ridiculous amounts of their mass in water. Trappist-1e, however, is thought to have an amount of water similar to that of Earth. This means it most likely isn't a complete water world. (If it is, it's probably a shallow one) It most likely has a solid, rocky surface, with at least some water on it. I'm not going to jump to conclusions about whether or not Trappist-1e has life on it though. Yes, this planet could be habitable, but just because a planet is habitable doesn't mean it is inhabited. But if it does have life on it, I think it is probable that Trappist-1d does as well. This is because considering how close to each other the planets in this system are, it is incr...
Comments
Post a Comment