We Have At Least 8.8 Billion More Earth-Like Planets to Ruin

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has found that we have something like 8.8 billion more earth-like planets in our galaxy, or enough for every person on this planet to have her own planet to ruin, and then some:

Space is vast, but it may not be so lonely after all: A study finds the Milky Way is teeming with billions of planets that are about the size of Earth, orbit stars just like our sun, and exist in the Goldilocks zone — not too hot and not too cold for life.

Astronomers using NASA data have calculated for the first time that in our galaxy alone, there are at least 8.8 billion stars with Earth-size planets in the habitable temperature zone.

This galactic study would not be complete without a dad joke: “If people on Earth could only travel in deep space, ‘you’d probably see a lot of traffic jams,’ Bill Borucki, NASA’s chief Kepler scientist, joked Monday.” [AP, NYT]