Nguyen, Katie

Mr. Wisner

World History

T/R - 1st Period

11 February 2017

Cultural Interaction: 7 Earth- Size Planets Orbit Dwarf Star, NASA

and European Astronomers Say
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/science/trappist-1-exoplanets-nasa.html

Key Vocabulary from the Article (Define at least 4).

o exoplanet: a planet that orbits a star outside the solar system
o imminent: about to happen
o insurmountable: too great to be overcome
o justification: the action of showing something to be right or reasonable

Summary of the Event (at least 3 major points; each point will have its own paragraph)

Recently, seven Earth-size planets have been discovered in an area fairly close to the
Earth, becoming an incredible discovery. They also have the potential to contain life. These
planets orbit a dwarf star named Trappist-1, about 235 trillion miles, away from Earth. Since
this is a relatively close distance, it gives us a great opportunity to study these planets. The
Trappist planets are about the size of Earth. However, the star that the planets orbit around is
different from our sun. The dwarf star was named after a robotic telescope that was used to
study the star and it stands for Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope.
Trappist-1 has one-twelfth the mass of the sun and a surface temperature of 4,150 degrees
Fahrenheit, making it cooler than the suns temperature.
The dwarf star consistently dimmed which meant that there might have been a planet
passing in front of it, blocking the light. Using the shape of the dips, the astronomers were
able to calculate the size of the planet. After observation, the light from Trappist-1 dipped so
many times that astronomers concluded that there were at least three planets around the star.
Other telescopes from around the world also observed Trappist-1, as well as the Spitzer
Space Telescope of NASA. The data collected led scientists to calculate seven planets, rather
than three. The seven planets are extremely close to the dwarf star and they circle more
quickly than the planets in our own solar system. Comparatively speaking, that means that
this planetary system is like the moons of Jupiter.
 The planets are close to a cool star, so there is a possibility that their surfaces could have
water flow, which is an essential ingredient for life on a planet. The fourth, fifth, and sixth
planets orbit in the stars habitable zone, which is where the planets could sport oceans.
Very soon, scientists will be able to discern what gases float in the atmospheres of the seven
planets. So far, it is confirmed for the two innermost planets that they are not surrounded by
hydrogen. Astronomers expect that a few decades of technological advances are needed
before observations can be made of Earth-like planets around larger, brighter sunlike stars.

Your Opinion of the Event (at least 3 sentences).

I find it extremely exciting that there is a possibility of life in this new planetary system. I
wish that I was able to understand a lot more about cosmology and astronomy because the
topics fascinate me so much. Through this article, I was able to learn a lot more than I had
previously known. I dont think that I have personally heard of astronomers discovering so
many planets at once in a system nearby our very own. I never knew that telescopes could be
a primary source for observing such an amazing discovery.

Relate your Event to a Historical Event (compare and contrast with current event).

This event is similar to that of the discovery of our own solar system with astronomers
Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei. During the European Renaissance era from the
fourteenth century to the seventeenth century, there was a period where science was changing
as well. Astronomers like Copernicus and Galileo believed that our planetary system was
heliocentric rather than it being geocentric. They are both similar events in that they both
deal with planetary systems. In both events, many astronomers had to back up the discovery
in order for it to be an actual discovery within the science field. Galileo Galilei confirmed
Copernicus theory, while there has been an international team that has been observing
Trappist-1 and confirmed this discovery. Another similarity is that both discoveries were
made with a heavy influence of technology. Technology in both of these events explained the
universe and the observations that were made. A difference between these two events was
that in the historical event, the pace for the discovery was a lot slower, than that of the
exoplanets. The transition from believing that the world was geocentric to heliocentric was a
lot more difficult than us accepting the discovery of a new planetary system. In Galileos
situation, he was told by the Catholic Church to deny the research he conducted because it
went against the beliefs of the church. In the current event, ideas and discoveries have
become a lot more accepting, despite some religious objections still. Another difference is
that technology is more advanced in the current event compared to that of the technology
during the Renaissance era. Now, we are able to determine characteristics such as oxygen in
the atmosphere, the gravity on the planets, and hydrogen levels in the planets as well.
Comparatively, the historical event had dated technology that hindered the discovery of more
than just the heliocentric theory.

Relate your Event to a Theme (at least 3 sentences).

 This event relates to the theme of cultural interaction because it focuses on science and
technology. This subtopic of cultural interaction is especially relevant in this article because
astronomers from different areas of the world worked together to make these discoveries.
The use of the telescope, a type of technology, in this event allowed for more accurate and
precise observation and research. There was also the involvement of a new discovery, and
this is a significant aspect of scientific research. The discovery of new exoplanets, especially
as many as this amount at the same time, is extraordinary and crucial in advancing our
culture and the way that we perceive the world.

Questions You Have About the Event (4).

- What is the main goal of finding a new planetary system besides simply
discovering it?
- How long does it take to actually confirm a discovery for what it is?
- How many dwarf stars have we discovered so far?
- Could we one day colonize habitable planets in other solar systems if they were to
exist?