Over 100 billion planets, mostly comprised of M dwarf stars, populate the Milky Way, according to a study recently published in The Astrophysical Journal. Scientists estimate that the seventy-five percent of stars in the galaxy share similarities with the Kepler-32 system, which hosts planets with diameters up to 2.7 times larger than earth.
"I usually try not to call things 'Rosetta stones,' but this is as close to a Rosetta stone as anything I've seen. It's like unlocking a language that we're trying to understand - the language of planet formation," study co-author John Johnson explains. "You look in detail at the architecture of this very special planetary system, and you're forced into saying these planets formed farther out and moved in."
Kepler-32's planets became more tightly knit as time progressed, as they inched closer to their nearby star. As an MSNBC report notes, the researchers used the Kepler Space Telescope and focused in on planets orbiting within a close proximity to M dwarf stars. As a result, the study's conclusion is based off of tight parameters that may not account for a number of other planets.
Study lead author Jonathan Swift reflects on the magnitude of the estimate, and states: "It's a staggering number, if you think about it. Basically, there's one of these planets per star."
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