NEW POSSIBLE HABITABLE PLANETS FOUND

This news talks about the new discovery the NASA has made: they've found 7 planets that are similar to the Earth, which means that could contain liquid water and, therefore, life. 

The planets are orbiting around a star called Trappist-1, which forms a system that is about 40 light-years away from the Earth. But this star is not like our sun, it is a dwarf star, so it's much smaller compared to it. Although, planets still can orbit around it and the experts have said that three of the seven planets are in the called "habitable zone", which means they are highly likely to contain water, while on the other four, it depends on the composition of their atmospheres.They believe all the planets are rocky, just like the Earth, so it is another reason to think that there might be life in them. 

In the news, they explain how the star was find, and it was actually because of its dimness. When they find a star that is temporary not shining, it is probably because a planet is orbiting in front of it, so it's a way to find the planets, even though it doesn't work with the small ones. 

The astronomers believe that by 2018 a new telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope will be launched and it will have the ability to examine the atmospheres, so in case it finds gases like oxygen, ozone or methane, life could exist in those planets. 

They actually announced the discovery of the three planets that are most likely to be habitable, but now they've found four more of them. This discovery is promising, because it gives a lot of new chances to find life outside the Earth. And also, astronomers say that there are many stars like Trappist-1, so it enlarges the possibilities.

PERSONAL OPINION:

I found this news very interesting, and it's related to a topic that has always seemed curious to me. I believe there is life somewhere else apart from the Earth, because the universe is infinite, so I don't think it is possible to be the only ones in all of it. So, the discovery of planets that may have similar features as the Earth is very promising and could lead to the discovery of life in other planets, which I think it would be amazing. 

VOCABULARY:

· Dimness: penombra, foscor

· Washed out: difuminats

· Yield: cedir, donar pas 

LINK: http://www.vox.com/2017/2/22/14698030/nasa-seven-exoplanet-discovery-trappist-1