Searching for life on the newly discovered Earthlike planets
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW IF THE CREATURES LIVING on the planet Trappist-1e suspect they’re being watched. Actually, it’s impossible to know if there are any creatures at all, but let’s assume they’re there—because it’s a fair enough assumption. Trappist-1e has a solid surface like Earth’s, after all. What’s more, it gets plenty of warmth from the star it orbits. That star, Trappist-1, is small and dim and much cooler than our sun, but Trappist-1e snuggles up close to the solar fires, so close that its year—the time it takes to complete a single orbit—is just 6.06 days. If the planet has an atmosphere (there’s no reason it couldn’t)
