Study: billions of Earth-sized planets in our galaxy
Posted: Fri, Oct 29, 2010, 8:01 AM ET (1201 GMT)
A new study concludes that the Milky Way galaxy may be home to nearly 50 billion planets approximately the size of the Earth. The research, published in the current issue of the journal Science, determined that number by examining the statistics of extrasolar planets discovered to date within 80 light-years of the Earth and then extrapolating the trend in sizes to smaller worlds, like the Earth. That analysis found that 23 percent of Sun-like stars in the galaxy should have Earth-sized planets, far more than have much larger planets, meaning that for an approximate population of 200 billion such stars in the galaxy, there should be at least 46 billion Earth-sized planets.
A new study concludes that the Milky Way galaxy may be home to nearly 50 billion planets approximately the size of the Earth. The research, published in the current issue of the journal Science, determined that number by examining the statistics of extrasolar planets discovered to date within 80 light-years of the Earth and then extrapolating the trend in sizes to smaller worlds, like the Earth. That analysis found that 23 percent of Sun-like stars in the galaxy should have Earth-sized planets, far more than have much larger planets, meaning that for an approximate population of 200 billion such stars in the galaxy, there should be at least 46 billion Earth-sized planets.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Thales and Airbus to build next-generation radar imaging satellites
Posted: Sat, Jun 13 10:02 AM ET (1402 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, June 18
ESA Studies Doubling Ariane 6 Flight Cadence
Aviation Week — 5:21 am ET (0921 GMT) Northrop Grumman to Advance Military’s Protected Satellite Communications
Northrop Grumman — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) Two Offices Face a Shaky Future in U.S. Space Force Acquisition Overhaul
Aviation Week — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) Eutelsat Secures First Order Under French Defense Agreement
ViaSatellite — 5:20 am ET (0920 GMT) Blue Origin Says It Will Launch a New Glenn Rocket This Year
Bloomberg News — 5:16 am ET (0916 GMT) |
