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Kepler telescope: Earth-sized planets ‘number 17bn’
This artist’s rendering shows the different types of planets in the Milky Way
detected by Nasa’s Kepler spacecraft
Kepler telescope: Earth-sized planets ‘number 17bn’
HERE By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Long Beach
Astronomers say that one in six stars hosts an Earth-sized planet in a close orbit – suggesting a total of 17 billion such planets in our galaxy. Full report HERE
First Earth-sized planets spotted
HERE By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News
Astronomers have detected the first Earth-sized planets, which are orbiting a star similar to our own Sun.
In the distant past they may have been able to support life and one of them may have had conditions similar to our own planet – but they now lie outside their star’s “habitable zone”.
They have described their findings as the most important planets ever discovered outside our Solar System.
Details of the discovery are outlined in the journal Nature.
