Recently, NASA surprised millions with its latest discovery: a star system with seven Earth-like planets. This is an announcement unprecedented in the history of space exploration. However, important discoveries such as this have been made in recent years. Let's review the 5 most amazing ones.
The discovery of gravitational waves
The announcement, made in February 2016 by scientists from the LIGO Observatory, has been highlighted as one of the most important findings in modern astronomy. With the phrase "We detected gravitational waves, we did it!", David Reitze, CEO of LIGO, went down in history by confirming one of the theories posed by physicist Albert Einstein about 100 years ago.
With this discovery, scientists determined a new way of studying the universe without the need for light, as they were able to find the gravitational wave-emitting objects while they moved through the galaxy. In this first sighting, specifically, they could witness the collision of two black holes about 1.3 billion years ago.
The TRAPPIST-1 system and its 7 Earth-like planets
The discovery of this system, with seven planets orbiting a single star, caused a stir in the scientific community and the general public, as the astronomers in charge of the announcement detailed that there is a possibility that three of them have characteristics for sheltering life.
While the TRAPPIST-1 star is 40 light-years away from the solar system and scientists have ruled out that this generation can be reached soon, the discovery is a breakthrough for the future. If the conditions for life are confirmed, it could mean a new destiny for the human race.
Evidence of liquid water on Mars
It was in September 2015 when NASA announced that the MRO probe had captured images in which the presence of hydrated salts in the surface of Mars could be distinguished; that means, literally, brine rivers. This discovery proved the theory that the red planet currently has water in the furrows of its geography.
"Under certain circumstances, liquid water has been found on Mars," the scientists in charge of this research detailed. The finding proved that it is not a completely arid planet, as it has been treated so far.
The exoplanet closest to the solar system
Proxima Centuri is the closest star to the Sun, and, in August of last year, a team of astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) found an exoplanet orbiting this star, which they called Proxima Centauri b. This celestial body became the closest formation to Earth in aspect found so far.
Although there are still no details about its characteristics and it is unknown whether it would be able to accommodate life as we know it, scientists estimate that it could have the temperature needed to contain liquid water.
This exoplanet is very close to its star, completing its orbit in only 11 days, a situation similar to that of the TRAPPIST-1 system.
The most Earth-like planet
The discovery of a twin planet was made through the observations made by the Kepler mission, and in 2015, NASA scientists announced the discovery of Earth 2.0. With a diameter 60% larger than our planet, this celestial body takes 385 days to complete its orbit. The researchers detailed that this is the most Earth-like formation that has been found so far in the universe.
The planet was called Kepler-452b and is located 1,400 light years from the solar system in the Cygnus constellation. In addition to that, its central star is very similar to the Sun.
Because Kepler-452b is 6 billion years old (1,500 million years older than our Sun), scientists believe that it is a great opportunity for life if "all the ingredients and necessary conditions are given."