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TRAPPIST-1f, also designated as 2MASS J23062928-0502285 f, is an exoplanet, likely rocky but under a massive water-steam gaseous envelope at very high pressure and temperature, orbiting within the habitable zone around the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 39 light-years (12 parsecs) away from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius. The exoplanet was found by using the transit method, in which the dimming effect that a planet causes as it crosses in front of its star is measured.

It was one of four new exoplanets to be discovered orbiting the star using observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope.

TRAPPIST-1f in "Manuscript Tradition"[]

In the late 21st century, TRAPPIST-1f was rechristened Faraday by astronomers. It did support life, and until about the Earth year 1400, sustained a civilization capable of space-travel. However, after sending a mission to Earth, the planet fell to a destructive global war that reduced its inhabitants to stone-age level society.

Of the mission to Earth, there was only one survivor. As the inhabitants of Faraday were very long lived, the alien lived among humans for several centuries without being detected. Residing in Italy shortly after his arrival, he created a manuscript to cope with his situation. The manuscript contained drawings of flora and fauna of his home, as well as writings in his native language. Over the course of the centuries, the alien lost control of the manuscript. Like a number of immigrants, the alien arrived in the United States in 1893, hoping for a better life, which he mostly did find.

The alien's manuscript was purchased by Wilfrid Voynich in the early twentieth century, and it became a very public mystery. The "Voynich Manuscript" and was donated to Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale in 1969. When the author learned that the Beinecke had the manuscript, he took a position as a janitor there in the 1980s. Using the name "Loquasto", the alien worked as a custodian at the Beinecke until 2219, hiding his identity by claiming to be various descendants of the original custodian. He even maintained the same house in West Haven, Connecticut.

In the late 21st century, the U.S. sent a space crawler to Loquasto's home planet. It arrived there in the 2170s, and began collecting data, including evidence that its people had indeed fallen into a devastating war. One such denizen smashed the crawler. The data arrived on Earth in 2219. While viewing it, Dr. Feyrouz Hanafusa, the incumbent curator of the Beinecke, saw pictures of flora that she remembered from the Voynich Manuscript. As she reviewed it, the alien, using the name "Tony Loquasto" appeared. When Hanafusa confronted him, Loquasto told her his story.

While they spoke, images showing Faraday's dead civilization, and the crawler's destruction had been broadcast. The second to last image showed the base of what had been a statute, including writing identical to writing in the Voynich Manuscript. People across the country recognized the significance, and began contacting Hanafusa. Realizing his risk, Loquasto disappeared after he burned his house down to cover his tracks. The manuscript remained officially a mystery. While Loquasto's story became public knowledge, only Hanafusa ever really believed it.[1]

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