NASA’s Kepler space telescope has literally transformed our understanding of planetary systems in our galaxy. Although the mission has suffered some serious setbacks this year, Kepler data continue to reveal smaller and smaller worlds circling their stars in orbits not too dissimilar to Earth’s orbit around the sun. So that raises the question: How many ‘habitable’ worlds are out there? On Nov. 4, astronomers announced their answer: 10 billion. Yes, there are likely 10 billion habitable exoplanets in the Milky Way.
