Exhibit Codex
TRAPPIST-1
A small, cool star about 40.5 light-years away in Aquarius. Seven known terrestrial-sized planets form a remarkably compact planetary system. The system age is uncertain; 7.6 billion years is an approximate published estimate.
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Ultracool red dwarf
Reference and coverage
Time scaling is shared with the interactive atlas. Surface interpretations and reconstructed history have different levels of certainty.
Planetary record
An ultracool dwarf
TRAPPIST-1 has about 9% of the Sun’s mass and 12% of its radius. Its effective temperature is approximately 2,566 K. Low luminosity places temperate orbital distances much closer to the star than in our system.
A long-lived planetary host
The estimated age is 7.6 ± 2.2 billion years. Red dwarfs can remain on the main sequence far longer than Sun-like stars. Activity and radiation are important questions for the surrounding planets.
Time in this exhibit
7.6 billion years ago · An ancient red dwarf
An approximate formation epoch for TRAPPIST-1. Its age is uncertain, and the early disk shown here is illustrative.
Present · Seven compact worlds
The known planets occupy a near-resonant orbital chain. Periods and radii come from the NASA Exoplanet Archive; the scene uses illustrative phases and surfaces.
Read the detailed records
Open the full exhibit Codex for individual structure records and time-specific information. The Credits page lists source creators, licenses and adaptations.