TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool red dwarf star in the constellation Aquarius. It has a mass of about 9% that of the Sun, a radius slightly larger than the planet Jupiter, and a surface temperature of about 2,560 K (2,290 °C). The star is located at a distance of 41 light-years (12.5 pc) from the Sol System and is estimated to be 7.6 billion years old, making it older than the Sol System. It was discovered in 2000 and first contact was made by the Sol Collective in 2369.
In 2016 and 2017, observations with numerous space- and ground-based telescopes, including the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) telescope at La Silla Observatory, led to the discovery two terrestrial planets in orbit around the star. An additional signal in the data was later found to be the result of five planets, bringing the total to seven. The orbital periods – the time it takes for each planet to orbit the star – have precise numerical ratios of 8:5, 5:3, 3:2, 3:2, 4:3, and 3:2. This orbital resonance could have existed since the formation of the planetary system, and probably causes intense planet-planet tidal interactions that could drive volcanic activity on the planets. The planets are tidally locked to TRAPPIST-1, which forces them to keep the same side facing their host star.
Four of the planets (d, e, f, g) are orbiting within the habitable zone of the star and thus to have temperatures suitable to the presence of liquid water and the development of life.
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