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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Famous space family has a surprisingly peaceful history

The seven planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1 were largely spared cosmic collisions, raising questions about where these worlds got their water.
An illustration showing what the TRAPPIST-1 system might look like from a vantage point near planet TRAPPIST-1f

The star named TRAPPIST-1 (left; artist’s illustration) is circled by seven rocky, Earth-sized planets that had a tranquil early existence. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Comets and asteroids have bombarded many planets — including Earth in its youth. But the seven Earth-sized worlds in an iconic planetary system have enjoyed a relatively quiet and undisturbed life, research shows1.

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Nature 600, 192 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-03584-2

References

  1. Raymond, S. N. et al. Nature Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01518-6 (2021).

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