There may be other planets like ours

[Ravenchamp]

There are likely "tens of billions" of Earth-like planets in our Milky Way galaxy, according to a study released Monday by astronomers from the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Hawaii.

"Planets like our Earth are relatively common throughout the Milky Way galaxy," said astronomer Andrew Howard of the University of Hawaii, who gives an estimate of about 40 billion.

In fact, the nearest Earth-like planet may be "only" 12 light years away, which is roughly 72 trillion miles.

In all, there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, of which about 20 percent of those are like our sun. And of those "sun-like" stars, astronomers now estimate that about one in five have planets that are nearly the size of Earth and also have a surface temperature conducive to the development of life.



www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/04/earth-like-planets-milky-way-galaxy/3433449/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=206567

[Deleted]

Don't forget that Carl Sagan never used the phrase "billions and billions." The phrase came from a comedian impersonating Sagan on SNL many years ago. In fact, in his book "Cosmos" he published a logical equation that projected the possible number of possibly habitable planets, as well as the possible number of planets with existing life as we know it within our own galaxy; "existing life" meaning anything from microbes to mammals.

"Tens of Billions" is not a scientific estimate.

USA Today ("McPaper") isn't known for being a "source of record" for scientific fact, and I doubt the credibility of the reporter as well as the source.

Just say'n...

[Ravenchamp]

No way in hell we are it, not with billions of "Known" galaxies and stars that are visible.
The article only follows the same thinking that the smartest people on the planet follow.

[toon face]

we are only human and know very little of the universe

[Deleted]

Nov 7, 2013 2:44:07 GMT -5 toon face said:

we are only human and know very little of the universe

I know that it's big. very big... mind bogglingly big, "you just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space".

(With apologies to Douglas Adams.)