TRAPPIST-1 Compared to Jovian Moons and Inner Solar System - Feb. 2018
Ssc2018 04d

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, T. Pyle (IPAC)

Artwork • February 5th, 2018 • ssc2018-04d

ssc2018-04d

All seven planets discovered in orbit around the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 could easily fit inside the orbit of Mercury, the innermost planet of our solar system. In fact, they would have room to spare. TRAPPIST-1 also is only a fraction of the size of our Sun; it isn't much larger than Jupiter. So, the TRAPPIST-1 system's proportions look more like Jupiter and its moons than those of our solar system.

The seven planets of TRAPPIST-1 are all Earth-sized and terrestrial. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf star in the constellation Aquarius, and its planets orbit very close to it.

This image has artwork updated in Feb. 2018 to reflect surfaces based on more precise measurements of the planets' densities.

About the Object

Name
TRAPPIST-1
Type
Planet > Type > Terrestrial
Star > Spectral Type > M
Distance
39.6 Light Years