Aliens in Earth's neighborhood?

Humans once thought they were alone in the universe (with gods watching over them). The gradual discovery of new planets in our solar system, and thousands beyond, has proved that our world is only one of many.

 In fact, NASA announced an astonishing discovery at a press conference earlier this week that has helped intensify our world’s interest in space travel, exploration, habitation and the possibility of life on other planets.

 The story began last May, when researchers in Chile using the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope, or Trappist, discovered three new planets. They named the new exoplanet system Trappist-1 (for obvious reasons), and began to use the powerful Spitzer Space Telescope to confirm their findings.

 According to NASA’s Feb. 22 press release, the “Spitzer, an infrared telescope that trails Earth as it orbits the sun,” was a good device to examine these new planets “because the star glows brightest in infrared light, whose wavelengths are longer than the eye can see.” Trappist-1 was observed “nearly continuously for 500 hours” and the Spitzer was “uniquely positioned in its orbit to observe enough crossing — transits — of the planets in front of the host star to reveal the complex architecture of the system.”

 What the research team found was remarkable.

 Two of the original planets were eventually identified — along with, much to their surprise, five other planets, including three in the so-called habitable zone where life might exist. All of them were similar in size to Earth, and orbit around a single star described as an “ultra-cool dwarf.”

 “The discovery sets a new record,” according to NASA, “for greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system.”

 But there’s more to this story, which has been simultaneously published in the preeminent scientific journal Nature.

 All seven planets located in Trappist-1 are reportedly rocky like Earth, and not made of gas. Hence, they could all potentially contain liquid water — which is, of course, one of the keys to life. (The three planets located squarely in the habitable zone have the greatest potential for having water.)

 It should be mentioned that this exoplanet system is well outside our solar system. Scientists have estimated the planets are 39 light years, or roughly 235 trillion miles, away from Earth.

 Until our technology is much more advanced, we won’t be visiting them anytime soon.

 Yet, with the James Webb Space Telescope, a far more powerful scientific tool than the Hubble Space Telescope, about to go into space in 2018, we can already start learning about Trappist-1.

 Sean Carey, manager of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC in Pasadena, Calif., said this is “the most exciting result I have seen in the 14 years of Spitzer operations.” In his view, “Spitzer will follow up in the fall to further refine our understanding of these planets so that the James Webb Space Telescope can follow up. More observations of the system are sure to reveal more secrets.”

 This could potentially mean that human beings could visit, or live on, other habitable planets one day. It’s also possible, however strange it may sound to some ears, that we could find evidence of microbic or primitive life forms in Trappist-1 and beyond.

 It’s important that President Donald Trump — who has previously mentioned his support for further space exploration — work with Congress to ensure that funding for NASA is maintained. Humans have a great interest in unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and looking for ways to explore planets that are currently beyond our reach.