How common are habitable planets? One in five stars may have Earth-size, potentially habitable planets
Monday, November 4, 2013 - 18:00
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers analyzed all four years of Kepler data in search of Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of sun-like stars, and then rigorously tested how many planets they may have missed. Based on this analysis, they estimate that 22 percent of stars like the sun have potentially habitable Earth-size planets, though not all may be rocky or have liquid water, a presumed prerequisite for life.