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Study Estimates 100 Billion Planets In the Milky Way Galaxy

The Bad Astronomer writes "A new study finds that there may be 100 billion alien planets in the Milky Way alone, with 17 billion of them the size of Earth. Announcements like this have been made before, but this new research is more robust than previous studies, using data from the Kepler planet-hunting spacecraft over a longer period and analyzing it in a more statistically solid way (PDF). They also found that smaller planets are not as picky about their host stars, with terrestrial planets forming around stars like the Sun or as small as tiny, cool red dwarfs with equal ease."

10 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Alien? by DarthVain · · Score: 5, Funny

    So are they saying there is 100,000,000,001 total planets? Thats some accuracy!

    Are planets in our Solar System "Alien" or are we claiming ownership over them?

    I think they just wanted to use Alien in the summary.

  2. Re:"100 billion alien planets" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    640k ought to be enough for anybody.

  3. Re:Remember when there was just the one... by swx2 · · Score: 3, Funny

    You mean you were a kid before they discovered the planets in the solar system? O_o

  4. Re:Remember when there was just the one... by WillgasM · · Score: 3, Funny

    Lestat, is that you?

  5. Re:Remember when there was just the one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    So you're the other highlander... There can be only one!

  6. Figures by arcite · · Score: 4, Funny

    100 billion planets and I have to be stuck on this one.

    1. Re:Figures by Eddy_D · · Score: 5, Funny

      Your only hope is to start hanging around in English bars and keeping an eye out for a weird looking dude carrying a towel.

      --
      - I stole your sig.
  7. Goverment aid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    So 0bama could send $100 government aid to every planet in our galaxy and only add another $10 trillion to the deficit. Please don't give him any ideas.

  8. Re:"100 billion alien planets" by edibobb · · Score: 3, Funny

    64K if you're any good.

  9. Re:Goldilocks zone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "assholery". That's an abstraction of "asshole" meaning "the practice or art of being an asshole".