1.) What
are the articles about?
The number of planets in the Milky Way Galaxy
2.) What
information in the articles is particularly noteworthy?
“There’s at least 100 billion planets in the galaxy.”
-John Johnson, Professor of Astronomy, Harvard University Faculty of Arts and
Sciences Department of Astronomy; Assistant Professor of Astronomy, California
Institute of technology; Researcher, National Aeronautics and space
Administration Exoplanet Science Research Institute
Teams of astronomers have estimated that there is roughly
one planet per star:
“Our galaxy contains a minimum of one planet for every star on average.”
–Kailash Chandra Sahu, Associate Astronomer, Space Telescope
Science Institute
Astronomers calculated that there is, on average, one planet for every one of
the approximately 100 billion stars in the galaxy, and many of them could
harbor life. The Milky Way has a lot of worlds: At least one for every star,
and at least one Earth-like one for every six stars.
“Basically, there’s one of these planets per star…There are more planets out
there than stars we can see.”
-Jonathan Swift, Postdoctoral Researcher, California Institute of Technology
A more accurate estimate that includes data from other
analyses could lead to an average of two planets per star. The conditions under
which planets form make it likely that most systems have more than one per
star. There is likely to be a minimum of 1,500 planets within just 50
lightyears of Earth.
“There are more small planets than large ones.”
-Stephen Kane, Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University Department
of Physics and Astronomy; Research Scientist, National Aeronautics And Space
Administration Infrared Processing and Analysis Center Exoplanet Science
Institute, California Institute of Technology
Low mass planets are more abundant than their massive
counterparts. There are far more Earth-sized planets than bloated Jupiter-sized
worlds. One in six stars hosts a Jupiter-mass planet. Half of the stars had
Neptune-like planets, and two thirds of the stars have Earth-like planets.
“Our solar system is rare among the galaxy’s population of
planetary systems because our star is not a red dwarf.”
-John Johnson, Caltech.
3.) Why
is the subject of the articles important in astronomy?
Two in three stars have Earth-like
planets. This works out to 10 billion terrestrial planets across the galaxy. 17%
of all planets are roughly the size of Earth. This means conditions to create
these planets are common when stars are born, and Earths are relatively easy to
make.
“This is encouraging news for investigations into habitable planets.”
-Stephen Kane, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Exoplanet Exploration Program,
Caltech
1.) Boyle,
Rebecca. “Billions And Billions: Our Galaxy Has At Least 100 Billion Planets,
Of Which 17 Billion Are Earthlike. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-01/billions-and-billions-our-galaxy-has-least-100-billion-planets-plus-cornucopia-comets
2.) California
Institute of Technology. “100 Billion Planets May Populate The Galaxy”. Astrobiology
Magazine, April 1, 2013. http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/5242/100-billion-planets-may-populate-the-galaxy
3.) California
Institute of Technology. “Astronomer Estimate That At Least 100 Billion Planets
Populate The Galaxy”. Astronomy Magazine. Thursday January 3, 2013. http://www.astronomy.com/news/2013/01/astronomers-estimate-that-at-least-100-billion-planets-populate-the-galaxy
4.) Calvin,
Whitney. “Study Shows Our Galaxy Has At Least 100 Billion Planets”. California
Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory. January 11, 2012. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2012-010
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/micro20120111.html
5.) Crepp,
Justin, Fabrycky, Daniel; et al. “Characterizing The Cool Kois IV: Kepler-32 As
A Prototype For The formation Of Compact Planetary Systems Throughout The Galaxy”.
The Astrophysical Journal. December 31, 2012. http://arxiv.org/pdf/1301.0023.pdf
6.) Dunbar,
Brian. “Billions And Billions Of Planets”. National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. January 3, 2013. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler20130103.html#.U2tzRa1dVCN
7.) Gayle,
Damien. “Our Galaxy Contains 100 Billion Planets, New Study Claims (That Means
There’s One For Every Star In The Sky): Analysis Only Includes Planets In Close
Orbits Around Certain Kinds Of Stars—Meaning That Estimate Could Yet Be
Doubled”. January 3, 2013. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2256552/Our-galaxy-contains-100BILLION-planets-new-study-claims-means-theres-star-sky.html
8.) Moyer,
Michael. “Earth-Like Planets Fill The Galaxy”. Scientific American. January 8,
2013. http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2013/01/08/earth-like-planets-fill-the-galaxy/
9.) Plait,
Phil. “Our Galaxy Is Crammed full Of Planets”. Slate. January 7, 2013. http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/01/07/alien_earths_new_study_indicates_there_are_billions_of_earth_sized_planets.html
10.)
Sahu, Kailash and Vilard, Ray. “The Milky Way
Contains At Least 100 Billion Planets According To Survey”. Space Telescope
Science Institute. January 11, 2012. http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2012/07/full/
11.)
Space Telescope Science Institute. “The Milky
Way Contains At Least 100 Billion Planets According To Survey: Results Indicate
That, Statistically, Every Star In The Galaxy Should Have At Least One Planet,
If Not More”. Astronomy Magazine. Tuesday January 17, 2012. http://www.astronomy.com/news/2012/01/the-milky-way-contains-at-least-100-billion-planets-according-to-survey
12.)
Woo, Marcus. “Planets Abound: Caltech-Led
Astronomers Estimate That At Least 100 Billion Planets Populate The Galaxy”. California
Institute of Technology. February 1, 2013. http://www.caltech.edu/content/planets-abound
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