Kepler is an outer space telescope launched in 2009 that orbits
the sun between Mars and Earth. It has been looking for
exoplanets since that time which are planets that are outside
our own solar system. As of February, 2011 Kepler had detected
evidence of 1,235 such planets and more than 50 of these
suspected exoplanets were considered to be in so called
'Goldilocks' zones. That is, located in manners that provide for
their not being too hot nor too cold for life to exist on them.
Based on this and other sample information that has been
acquired so far scientists have extrapolated that there may be
50 billion exoplanets in the Milky Way of which 500 million may
be capable of supporting life. The announcement was made on
Saturday by Kepler science chief William Borucki at the American
Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C.
Tags: Exoplanets, Goldilocks, Jubinsky, Kepler, Life, Universe
Views: 14  Replies to This Discussion  And 500 million is just
the estimated number of possibly life-