You've probably seen, it was trending on Twitter at one point in time, that scientists have found seven plants orbiting a 'near-by' star. By that NASA means it's something like 40 light-years away, that's about 235 trillion miles away. It's near the Aquarius constellation to be specific. They've called it TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet system. It's named after The Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope that's in Chile. Go Chile!

In May 2016 NASA announced that it had found three planets orbiting the TRAPPIST-1 star and since then has upped the number to seven. They found the system when they noticed dips in the star's light as the planets that orbit around it passed. Similar to how Gallelio figured out that the earth orbits the sun.

So far, using a nifty thing called Spitzer data, scientists have been able to estimate the densities of at least six of the planets and believe them to be rocky.

The planets orbit the TRAPPIST-1, the star at the center of their system, much closer than most of our planets orbit our sun. In fact, they all orbit closer to their sun than Mercury orbits ours. That being said, the TRAPPIST-1 is classified as an ultra-cool dwarf, it's a dim and cool star. This places three stars in what NASA scientists are calling the 'habitable zone'. Which is basically a planet could potentially have water and water means possible life forms.

For NASA, three planets that could possibly support life in one solar system is a big deal. This is the first time they've found Earth-sized planets orbiting a star of this type.

What comes next? No worries, the scientists are way ahead of you. They're already searching for gasses like oxygen or methane, that can help us understand what's happening on the surface of these planets.

While all this is well in good, some scientists remain a little skeptical. After all these small, dim stars, like the TRAPPIST-1, are known for emitting more radiation in flares and that can create a sterile surface on the planet. So it might be a little too early to bake a 'welcome' cake for our new neighbors.

Before saying anything for sure NASA's planning on using the Hubble, Spitzer, and Kepler to continue to watch these planets closely and document any changes. In 2018 NASA's going to launch another telescope called James Webb Space Telescope and turn it on and point it at the TRAPPIST-1 system.

The age-old question when it comes to space exploration is 'are we alone?' and this time NASA thinks they're a step closer to finding an answer.