Scientists Bet On Alien Life Around Nearby Trappist

Thinking we're alone in the universe is like believing a man with a stutter wwwwill wwin poker mobile games that have a vvvverbal ccccomponent. That said proving there is life out there among the stars has proven awfully tricky and the bookies like Bet365 are not at all encouraged it'll happen any time soon, the odds not attracting many to bet on alien life hitting the headlines this year or next however perhaps a new discovery means we'll soon see those heavy set odds shifting.

Star Trappist-1

• 7 exoplanets
• 3 in Goldilocks zone
• Possible surface water
• 39 light years away

It was a year ago now that scientists announced that the relatively nearby dwarf star Trappist-1 had some planets in orbit around it, some of them earth sized, and circling in what is termed “The Goldilocks Zone” where surface temperature is neither too hot nor too cold to prevent the development of life, and indeed this discovering sparked many to bet on alien life stalking their surfaces, leading to further observation of Trappist-1 (which sounds like a version of Star Trek with monks if you ask me).

Trappist-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf star, meaning that it is somewhat weak of power and it may be some indication to those that like to bet on sports in the UK and read between the lines that researchers seem quite quick to bet on alien life developing on these planets in very close proximity to their star, some so close their orbit lasts just fifteen to twenty days. In all seven planets have now been discovered around Trappist-1 with most thought to be tidally locked, not rotating during orbit as Earth does.

A Bet On Alien Trappist Monks?

With NASA launching the James Webb Space Telescope next year, and the E-ELT Magellan Telescope following on the ground in 2023, and Trappist 1 being just 39 light years away a bet on alien life may be proven sooner than you think, just ask Michael Gillon at the University of Liege who said; “The star is so small and cold that the seven planets are temperate, which means that they could have some liquid water and maybe life, by extension, on the surface.” And those instruments will spot them.

The James Webb Space Telescope is set to launch next year (photo: sciencemag.org)

“It's a fast track approach to looking for life beyond the solar system.” Admitted David Charbonneau a professor of Astronomy at Harvard. “This means we might be in the business of looking for aliens in a decade and not as others have envisioned on a much longer timescale.” However given these seven planets popped up in less than a year, even that estimation could be overly conservative and a bet on alien life being proven very soon might not be the insane waste of UK gambling laws it first appears.

Bet365 Has Out Of This World Odds

Beyond making a bet on alien life a tad more palatable the discovery indicates that perhaps other stars in the milky way, of which our solar system is part, may also have planets in as great a number and in such fortuitously temperate orbits as Trappist-1, this would make the local neighborhood positively teeming with potential cauldrons for life, perhaps even sentient life, although no one in the UK gambling news of aliens wagering on us will hit the headlines is in any way sane or sensible.

Alien Life Proven?

• 2017 – 33/1
• 2018 – 25/1
• 2019 – 20/1
• 2020+ - 2/14

Currently if you wish to bet on alien existence being proved at one of the big online book makers like Bet365 you can get 33/1 on a scientist popping up this year with some proof, and 25/1 on 2018 although perhaps 2019 at 20/1 is a more palatable bet, but only if you've not looked at the 1/14 being given on 2020 or later. Then again, given just how excited the men in the white coats are about this new discovery perhaps those odds being outpaced by the speed of science.