Planets

The possible look of TRAPPIST-1's planets (Image NASA/R. Hurt/T. Pyle)

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An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” describes a study of the internal structure and tidal warming of the 7 planets of the ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 system. Amy C. Barr, Vera Dobos, and László L. Kiss created models of those 7 planets, concluding that two of them are most likely to be habitable because the temperatures on their surface could allow the presence of liquid water.

Rendering of the possible surface of K2-141b (Image courtesy Marco Galliani/INAF)

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Two articles, one to be published in “The Astronomical Journal” and one to be published in the journal “Astronomy and Astrophysics”, describe the study of the exoplanet K2-141b, a super-Earth very close to its star, so much that its year lasts only 6.7 hours. A team of researchers led by Luca Malavolta of the University of Padua and the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics used the National Galileo Telescope and its HARPS-N spectrograph to study it.

Underground ice exposed at the steep slope that appears bright blue in this enhanced-color view (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS)

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An article published in the journal “Science” describes the discovery of eight areas on the planet Mars where soil erosion revealed the presence of large glaciers. A team of researchers located and studied the areas thanks to NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) space probe’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. The slopes generated by erosion offer new information on those glaciers’ stratified structure and consequently on the red planet’s climate history.

Artist's concept of the TRAPPIST-1 system (Image NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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An article published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” describes a research that tries to provide an estimate of the possibilities for the 7 planets of the ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 to maintain an atmosphere. A team of researchers created simulations that took into account the characteristics of TRAPPIST-1’s stellar wind and the possible speed at which the planets’ atmosphere would be torn away from them. The conclusion is that the two outermost planets could maintain an atmosphere for billions of years.

Artist's concept of the star K2-106 and its planets (Image courtesy / Vincenzo Guido, Emilio Molinari)

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An article published in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” describes the study of two super-Earths in the system of the star K2-106. A team of astronomers led by Eike W. Guenther of the Thuringian State Observatory in Tautenburg, Germany used various telescopes to collect the data needed to determine the characteristics of the two exoplanets. The conclusion is that they’re both larger than the Earth but one is unusually dense while the other has a significantly lower density.