Are Aliens Just 40 Light Years Away?

There’s definitely no shortage of speculation when it comes to the existence of alien life. Now, space scientists have taken hearsay one step further, and are maintaining that extra-terrestrial beings could be just 40 light years away.

According to Adam Burgasser, a Professor of physics at San Diego’s University of California, a trio of Earth like planets could host alien life. And most importantly, these three planets are currently orbiting within the “habitable zone” of TRAPPIST-1, an ultracool dwarf star located just located 39.13 light-years away in the Aquarius constellation. Described as “cool, red, small and dim,” TRAPPIST-1 offers perfect conditions for the detection of life on Earth-sized exoplanets.

A 'perfect storm' for alien life

Michael Gillon, study leader research associate at the the University of Liege explains that small, cool stars in the solar neighbourhood are the only places where current technology is able to detect life on Earth-sized exoplanets. "So if we want to find life elsewhere in the Universe, this is where we should start to look," he clarifies.

Research indicates that the sizes and temperatures of the planets are similar to those found on Earth and Venus. This has got space scientists hot under the collar, with some asserting that they could host life forms that are specially adapted to surviving in infrared worlds.

Getting up close and personal

As the planets are so close to Earth, opportunities to study composition, atmospheric conditions and chemical traces of life are promising. "The kind of planets we've found are very exciting from the perspective of searching for life in the universe beyond Earth,” says Burgasser.

And according to Burgasser, the currently identified trio is just the beginning…

"If Earth-like planets around these stars turn out to be common, there may be many more habitable planets out there than current estimates predict," he predicts.

New horizons for exoplanet hunting

For the space science community as a whole, the discovery turns a new page in the search for extra-terrestrial life. As around 15% of stars in close proximity to the sun are labelled as “ultra-cool dwarf stars,” the findings open up a host of exciting new opportunities for exoplanet hunters.

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