Aliens could be living on a planet orbiting a distant star, according to a new scientific discovery.
Some of the planets orbiting the far away star called TRAPPIST-1 were recently found to have the ability to retain atmospheres for billions of years.
A constant atmosphere is one of the main factors that allows for life.
Scientists from Harvard and Princeton universities have published a paper detailing the “implications for habitability” on the outer planets in TRAPPIST-1.
They said:
“The presence of an atmosphere over sufficiently long timescales is widely perceived as one of the most prominent criteria associated with planetary surface habitability.
“We conclude that the outer planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system are capable of retaining their atmospheres over billion-year timescales.”
TRAPPIST-1 is home to seven planets that are around the same size as Earth.
The solar system is 39.6 light-years away from our planet and is considerably older than ours too.
However, while this discovery suggests that some of these planets have been able to retain atmospheres for one billion years, it is not yet known whether this is enough time for advanced life-forms to evolve.
The scientists have suggested that the discovery be taken with “due caution.”
