Sunday, October 25, 2009

Class M, Class M—My Kingdom for a Class M!


Yup, we're getting there.


No matter who's formula you use... Drake's or Roddenberry's ...


..it looks like the Earth-like extra-solar planet tally is already starting to take off:

WASHINGTON — European astronomers have found 32 new planets outside our solar system, adding evidence to the theory that the universe has many places where life could develop. ....
Astronomer Stephane Udry of the University of Geneva said the results support the theory that planet formation is common, especially around the most common types of stars.
"I'm pretty confident that there are Earth-like planets everywhere," Udry said in a Web-based news briefing from a conference in Portugal. "Nature doesn't like a vacuum. If there is space to put a planet there, there will be a planet there." ....

1 comment:

Dwight Williams said...

Yep. Definitely, the whole discovery process is getting better. Smaller targets, more precise, and in bulk, too!