VISUAL ARCHIVE / IMAGE STORY
Seven Known Worlds, Unknown Furnaces
TRAPPIST-1 has seven rocky planets, but their pictured terrain is invented.
A conceptual portrait inspired by TRAPPIST-1's seven rocky planets. Their pictured surfaces and atmosphere are imagined; scientists have not photographed their landscapes or measured the radioactive inventory of their interiors.
THE OBSERVATION
What we can actually see.
Transit and other observations constrain or investigate orbital and atmospheric properties of these worlds. Their potassium, thorium, and uranium inventories are not measured by a landscape image or current transit data.
THE ILLUSTRATION
What the artwork imagines.
The surfaces and atmospheres are conceptual AI portraits. Treat each as a question about possible habitability rather than evidence for a particular climate.
FROM THE ILLUSTRATED ARTICLE
The story that inspired it.
The planet article explores how radiogenic heat could affect long-term geology while leaving actual exoplanet interiors unresolved. TRAPPIST-1 has seven rocky planets, but their pictured terrain is invented.
Read The Planets That Go Quiet While Their Stars Still ShineCHECK THE RECORD
The image interprets the research below. Follow the original work for the measurements and limits behind the scene.
NASA Webb: TRAPPIST-1 observationsOTHER IMAGE STORIES
A World with Enough Light and Too Little Heat
A Planet’s Slow Interior Furnace
The Mark Shared by Titan and Pluto