There could be as many as 40 billion habitable Earth-size planets in the galaxy. The New York Times reported a new analysis of data from NASA’s Kepler spacecraft shows one of every five sun-like stars in the galaxy has a planet the size of Earth. The habitable planets are found in the Goldilocks zone – not too hot, not too cold – where surface temperatures should be compatible with liquid water. The Times described the research by University of California graduate Erik Petigura as a “herculean three-year calculation.” “It seems that the universe produces plentiful real estate for life that somehow resembles life on Earth,” Mr. Petigura said. The analysis is seen as “a major step toward the main goal of the Kepler mission.” Kepler is a space observatory launched by NASA to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. The new analysis could funnel plans in the next few decades to finding a twin of the Earth – Earth 2.0 – that is close enough to here to study. The nearest such planet might be only 12 light-years away.
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