In 2017, the Liverpool Telescope was involved in the investigation of an exciting new discovery: the star system TRAPPIST-1. This star system contains 7 Earth-sized exoplanets, and some of these fall within the star's habitable zone.
In this activity, you will use Johannes Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion to calculate the orbital distance of each exoplanet in the TRAPPIST-1 star system. You will then work out where the habitable zone of TRAPPIST-1 is located and determine which exoplanets could potentially support liquid water – a key factor in the search for life elsewhere in the Universe.
By the end of this resource you will:
- Know the fundamental principles of Kepler’s Laws
- Know the properties of an ellipse
- Be able to use Kepler’s Third Law to investigate the properties of stellar systems
To complete this resource you will need:
- A copy of the data sheet
- A copy of the worksheet
- A copy of the answer sheet
- A scientific calculator or access to spreadsheet software like MS Excel
- Optional: the ‘MS Excel Help Sheet’
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by The Schools' Observatory
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