Watch Replay: NASA Reveals 7 Earth-Like Planets Around Nearby Star

NASA revealed that researchers have discovered seven Earth-like exoplanets around a single star, TRAPPIST-1, Wednesday in a live-streamed event in Washington, D.C. The title for the announcement was "Discovery Beyond Our Solar System."

The star is around 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. They were discovered with the Spitzer Space Telescope.

Three of the planets are in the theoretically habitable zone around the star. This is the largest number of Earth-like planets discovered around a single star, suggesting that such astronomical objects could be much more common than has previously been supposed.

“This discovery could be a significant piece in the puzzle of finding habitable environments, places that are conducive to life,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Answering the question ‘are we alone’ is a top science priority and finding so many planets like these for the first time in the habitable zone is a remarkable step forward toward that goal.”

"These questions about 'Are we alone?' are being answered," said Zurbuchen during the conference.

Researchers haven't yet confirmed if there is water on any of the planets, which is likely necessary for life, but they are looking.

"The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star," said Michael Gillon, the principal investigator on the project from University of Liege, Belgium. "It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds."

Watch the announcement here:

Photo credit: NASA