4.5 Billion 'Alien Earths' May Populate Milky Way

Hi there! How's tricks? Ready for a great mug of coffee and a virtual treat? Natch! Say...you know me...always one eye skyward - though sometimes it's hard to drive like that, eh! I've just been reading where there may be billions of Earth-like alien planets in our Milky Way galaxy alone, and the nearest such world may be just a stone's throw away (in the cosmic scheme of things).

Astronomers have calculated that 6 percent of the galaxy's 75 billion or so red dwarfs — stars smaller and dimmer than the Earth's own sun — probably host habitable, roughly Earth-size planets. That works out to at least 4.5 billion such "alien Earths," the closest of which might be found a mere dozen light-years away, researchers said.

This artist’s conception shows a hypothetical habitable planet with two moons orbiting a red dwarf star. Astronomers have found that 6 percent of all red dwarf stars have an Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone, which is warm enough for liquid water on the planet’s surface. Since red dwarf stars are so common, then statistically the closest Earth-like planet should be only 13 light-years away. 

"We now know the rate of occurrence of habitable planets around the most common stars in our galaxy," co-author David Charbonneau, also of CfA, said in a statement. "That rate implies that it will be significantly easier to search for life beyond the solar system than we previously thought." [9 Exoplanets That Could Host Alien Life]

That search may bear fruit right in Earth's backyard, researchers said. Possibly vegetables as well!




Yessir...put me down for a Tim Hortons franchise!

See ya, eh!

Bob