a small, dim red dwarf star about 39 light-years away
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TRAPPIST-1 is technically an ultracool dwarf star. This dim little star has only 8 percent of the mass of the sun, and temperatures are estimated around 2,550 Kelvin compared to 3,800 Kelvin for other red dwarfs and a scorching 5,800 Kelvin for our sun. In fact, TRAPPIST-1 is only slightly bigger than Jupiter.
Fortunately, the seven planets around TRAPPIST-1 orbit much closer to their host star than we do. Its inner planets have orbits that resemble Jupiter's Galilean moons. All seven orbit much closer to TRAPPIST-1 than even Mercury orbits the sun, allowing them to receive about the same amount of energy and heat as the Earth.
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