TRAPPIST-1e Has a Large Iron Core and Likely an “Earth-like” Magnetosphere say Researchers

Since last year's announcement of the 7 planet TRAPPIST-1 system astronomers around the world have been investigating the system to try and learn more about it , now a team from Columbia University’s Cool Worlds Laboratory have determined that TRAPPIST-1e , which is slightly smaller than Earth and orbits its star well within the habitable zone , has an Iron Core and so likely has a protective magnetosphere much like our own making it the most “Earth-like” of the TRAPPIST planets and a potential biosphere for Extraterrestrial life.

What they determined was that the minimum core size of six of the TRAPPIST-1 planets was essentially zero. This means that their compositions could be explained without necessarily having an iron core – for instance, a pure silicate mantle could be all that’s there. But in the case of TRAPPIST-1e, they found that its core must comprise at least 50% of the planet by radius, and at most, 78%.

The team have released this graphic to show how the core of TRAPPIST-1e compares to that of Earth.

Compare this to Earth, where the solid inner core of iron and nickel and a liquid outer core of a molten iron-nickel alloy comprise 55% of the planet’s radius. Between the upper and lower limit of TRAPPIST-1e’s CRF, they concluded that it must have a dense core, one which is likely comparable to Earth. This finding could mean that of all the TRAPPIST-1 planets, e is the most “Earth-like” and likely to have a protective magnetosphere.

“This gets me more excited about TRAPPIST-1e in particular. That planet is a tad smaller than the Earth, sits right in the habitable-zone and now we know has a large iron core like the Earth. We also know it does not possess a light volatile envelope thanks to other measurements. Further, TRAPPIST-1 appears to be a quieter star than Proxima so I’m much more optimistic about TRAPPIST-1e as potential biosphere than Proxima b right now.”

This is certainly good news in light of recent studies that have indicated that Proxima b is not likely to be habitable. Between its star emitting powerful flares that can be seen by the naked eye to the likelihood that an atmosphere and liquid water would not survive long on its surface, the closest exoplanet to our Solar System is currently not considered a good candidate for finding a habitable world or extra-terrestrial life.
www.universetoday.com...

At just 40 light years away it is conceivable that one day we may be able send a probe to explore TRAPPIST-1e or perhaps even go there ourselves , or maybe they spotted us first and have already done the same.

a reply to: gortex

Very interesting find.

I hope we can develop probes to explore this system.

Meanwhile. Our radio signals have reached that far.

If there is intelligent life. That has worked out radio/tv.

I wonder what they would think.

zidbits.com...

a reply to: blackcrowe

I wonder what they would think.

Given what a large number of people on this planet think of us I believe it would go something like this... "I hope they don't find us"

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: blackcrowe

I wonder what they would think.

Given what a large number of people on this planet think of us I believe it would go something like this... "I hope they don't find us"

That put a quick end to that thought. Ha ha.

I love this site...

Great post...

I hope beyond hope we find intelligent life in the great expanse of space in my lifetime....

Personally I still consider the 1996 mars meteor find to be confirmation of extraterrestrial organisms...now evolution resulting in sentient beings is a whole different story...

But what a day it would be when we discover life...

At present I think we are currently searching the wrong place(radio waves)…
If I was a hyper advanced alien species, I would utilize the most obvious currency in the universe: light…
I’d use my hyper advanced technology to “blink” stars into perfect, unnaturally repeating patterns as a beacon to say where I am by triangulating these stellar lighthouses...

Altering nearby stars is something we may be able to do in a few hundred thousand years if we don’t kill ourselves off...

-Chris

Tidal locking
All seven planets are likely to be tidally locked (one side of each planet permanently facing the star),[38] making the development of life there "much more challenging".[14] A less likely possibility is that some may be trapped in a higher-order spin–orbit resonance.[38] Tidally locked planets would typically have very large temperature differences between their permanently lit day sides and their permanently dark night sides, which could produce very strong winds circling the planets. The best places for life may be close to the mild twilight regions between the two sides, called the terminator line.

Tidal heating
Tidal heating is predicted to be significant: all planets except f and h are expected to have a tidal heat flux greater than Earth's total heat flux.[34] With the exception of TRAPPIST-1c, all of the planets have densities low enough to indicate the presence of significant H2O in some form. Planets b and c experience enough heating from planetary tides to maintain magma oceans in their rock mantles; planet c may have eruptions of silicate magma on its surface. Tidal heat fluxes on planets d, e, and f are lower, but are still twenty times higher than Earth's mean heat flow. Planets d and e are the most likely to be habitable. Planet d avoids the runaway greenhouse state if its albedo is ≳ 0.3.[53]

Possible effects of strong X-ray and extreme UV irradiation of the system
Bolmont et al. modelled the effects of predicted far ultraviolet (FUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV/XUV) irradiation of planets b and c by TRAPPIST-1. Their results suggest that the two planets may have lost as much as 15 Earth oceans of water (although the actual loss would probably be lower), depending on their initial water contents. Nonetheless, they may have retained enough water to remain habitable, and a planet orbiting further out was predicted to lose much less water.[23]

However, a subsequent XMM-Newton X-ray study by Wheatley et al. found that the star emits X-rays at a level comparable to our own much larger Sun, and extreme ultraviolet radiation at a level 50-fold stronger than assumed by Bolmont et al. The authors predicted this would significantly alter the primary and perhaps secondary atmospheres of close-in, Earth-sized planets spanning the habitable zone of the star. The publication noted that these levels "neglected the radiation physics and hydrodynamics of the planetary atmosphere" and could be a significant overestimate. Indeed, the XUV stripping of a very thick hydrogen and helium primary atmosphere might actually be required for habitability. The high levels of XUV would also be expected to make water retention on TRAPPIST-1d less likely than predicted by Bolmont et al., though even on highly irradiated planets it might remain in cold traps at the poles or on the night sides of tidally locked planets.[54]

If a dense atmosphere like Earth's, with a protective ozone layer, exists on planets in the habitable zone of TRAPPIST-1, UV surface environments would be similar to present-day Earth. However, an anoxic atmosphere would allow more UV to reach the surface, making surface environments hostile to even highly UV-tolerant terrestrial extremophiles. If future observations detect ozone on one of the TRAPPIST-1 planets, it would be a prime candidate to search for surface life.[55]

That was from wikipedia.

a reply to: Christosterone

I've always liked the communication by light waves idea but perhaps the great futurist Gene Roddenberry hit on the solution with subspace communications , theoretically it's possible so maybe a species capable of FTL travel would use a system like that.

Looking for ET radio signals is like looking for a small needle in a very large haystack but I guess while there's a chance of finding something it is still worth doing.

, now a team from Columbia University’s Cool Worlds Laboratory have determined that TRAPPIST-1e , which is slightly smaller than Earth and orbits its star well within the habitable zone , has an Iron Core and so likely has a protective magnetosphere much like our own making it the most “Earth-like” of the TRAPPIST planets and a potential biosphere for Extraterrestrial life

Tidal locking
All seven planets are likely to be tidally locked (one side of each planet permanently facing the star),[38] making the development of life there "much more challenging".[14] A less likely possibility is that some may be trapped in a higher-order spin–orbit resonance.[38] Tidally locked planets would typically have very large temperature differences between their permanently lit day sides and their permanently dark night sides, which could produce very strong winds circling the planets. The best places for life may be close to the mild twilight regions between the two sides, called the terminator line.

Would a tidally locked planet with an iron core produce a magnetosphere? Or would it have to rotate on it's own axis to produce it? Maybe from the orbits around the star.

Oh, very nice find.

I would hope this would be a prime target for the James Webb Telescope, since one goal is direct imaging of exoplanets.

a reply to: Arnie123

I think the more we learn about the system the more TRAPPIST-1e becomes an ideal target for JWST , I just hope one day it will launch to give us that opportunity.

Fingers crossed for 2020.

originally posted by: blackcrowe
a reply to: gortex

Very interesting find.

I hope we can develop probes to explore this system.

Meanwhile. Our radio signals have reached that far.

If there is intelligent life. That has worked out radio/tv.

I wonder what they would think.



zidbits.com...

Let´s hope they have not seen infinity war

a reply to: blackcrowe

I wonder what they would think.

To quote Spaceballs apes... (Language warning)

www.youtube.com...

originally posted by: Spacespider

originally posted by: blackcrowe
a reply to: gortex

Very interesting find.

I hope we can develop probes to explore this system.

Meanwhile. Our radio signals have reached that far.

If there is intelligent life. That has worked out radio/tv.

I wonder what they would think.



zidbits.com...

Let´s hope they have not seen infinity war

It will be a few years till that one hits their screens.

They will still have war of the worlds fresh in their ears.

originally posted by: wylekat
a reply to: blackcrowe

I wonder what they would think.

To quote Spaceballs apes... (Language warning)

www.youtube.com...

originally posted by: blackcrowe
a reply to: gortex


Meanwhile. Our radio signals have reached that far.

If there is intelligent life. That has worked out radio/tv.

I wonder what they would think.

zidbits.com...

They would be receiving the best radio and TV that 1978 has to offer and in two more years they would get to experience the best and worst of the 80's for the first time.

Hope they like airwolf and knightrider.

originally posted by: SolAquarius

originally posted by: blackcrowe
a reply to: gortex


Meanwhile. Our radio signals have reached that far.

If there is intelligent life. That has worked out radio/tv.

I wonder what they would think.

zidbits.com...

They would be receiving the best radio and TV that 1978 has to offer and in two more years they would get to experience the best and worst of the 80's for the first time.

Hope they like airwolf and knightrider.

They would think we developed AI before decent camera technology.

"What kind of backward race of beings is this"

My first thought upon reading your headline was the beer...

that said thanks for the heads up I am looking forward to reading up on this.

originally posted by: Irishhaf
My first thought upon reading your headline was the beer...

that said thanks for the heads up I am looking forward to reading up on this.

From wiki

The star at the center of the system was discovered in 1999 during the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS).[25][26] It was entered in the subsequent catalog with the designation "2MASS J23062928-0502285". The numbers refer to the right ascension and declination of the star's position in the sky and the "J" refers to the Julian Epoch.

The system was later studied by a team at the University of Liège, who made their initial observations using the TRAPPIST–South telescope from September to December 2015 and published their findings in the May 2016 issue of the journal Nature.[18][10] The backronym TRAPPIST reflects the telescope's nationality by alluding to Belgium's famous Trappist beer, named after the Roman Catholic religious order, which the astronomers used to toast their discovery.[27][28] Since the star hosted the first exoplanets discovered by this telescope, the discoverers accordingly designated it as "TRAPPIST-1"

Link

en.wikipedia.org...

a reply to: gortex

Before I saw your thread, I just recalled a thread i wrote about 2 months ago, about Trappist and specifically,Trappist e and f.

I clicked the space exploration sub forum and saw your thread at the top of the page less than 5 seconds after recalling my trappist thread. Coincidence?

Anyway, this is great news, thanks Gortex.

Here is my thread if you are interested:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nice story CreationBro.

I had not noticed it before.

Thanks for linking it.