Earth-sized worlds much more common than giant planets

[DavidDvorkin]

Nearly one in four stars like the Sun could have Earth-sized planets, according to a new estimate published in the journal Science.

A US team has found that on average small, so-called rocky planets are much more common in orbit close to their star than giant planets planets similar in size to Jupiter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11647089

Very cool!

[HopeHoops]

1. Probably - but FINDING them is a bitch. And finding one that is Earth-like in composition...

Besides, how the hell will we get there? We haven't figured out warp drive technology yet.

[DavidDvorkin]

2. But if we just knew for sure that there was one

That would be great.

[derby378]

4. Especially if it had breathable air and drinkable water

Have to catch that planet just right, though - Earth went through many phases where it was just too inhospitable to support human life. When the first continent of Ur had formed, Earth featured toxic red skies, poisonous green seas, and probably no life to speak of. Then the stromatolites came around, oxygen entered the atomsphere as a waste by-product, and the rest is history.

[HopeHoops]

5. Breathable air and drinkable water - you mean unlike Earth.

[theophilus]

3. That new satellite went up last January. To see earthlike planets means

recognizing planets with about a 365 day orbit. Well, come this December-February the data should pour in about those neat planets in the "Goldilocks Zone" (Just right for liquid water, etc.) It should be very interesting. This article is a preview. Size is interesting but the right orbit time is even more important.