The discovery
California Institute of Technology followed a five-planet system called Kepler-32, which lies about 915 light-years from Earth. The team studied its movements and calculated the number of planets in the vicinity. The results, according to CBS News, are astounding.
“There are at least 100 billion planets in the galaxy, just our galaxy,” John Johnson, an astronomy professor at Caltech and co-author of the study, said in a press release. “That’s mind-boggling.”
Researchers say this discovery is a big one in the world of science.
“I usually try not to call things ‘Rosetta stones,’ but this is as close to a Rosetta stone as anything I’ve seen,” Johnson said. “It’s like unlocking a language that we’re trying to understand – the language of planet formation.”
The discovery has generated a lot of buzz and renewed interest in astronomy. The new study was published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Similar to earth
The Kepler-32 system is similar in size to earth and it is believed that some of the outer lying planets could sustain water.
Researchers say their estimate of 100 billion planets could be modest. The technology they are using to observe this system is advanced, but it can only detect so much. Researchers say there could be upwards of 200 billion planets in the galaxy.
“It’s a staggering number, if you think about it,” said Jonathan Swift, lead author of the study.
Further researcher is needed to calculate an exact number of planets, but researcher say this study alone shows the vastness of the galaxy we’re in.
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