One variable comes closer to a good number.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

One of Drake's variables gets closer to a reliable number:

NASA’s Kepler reaps new planet harvest

A NASA space telescope’s harvesting of new planets is continuing apace with 26 new worlds confirmed in 11 new solar systems. It seems to confirm that the Milky Way must be packed with planets galore.
An artist's impression of a new planetary system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The latest big haul was made by the Kepler mission and nearly doubles the number of verified planets found by this telescope as it constantly watches a small area of the sky.

It also triples the number of stars that are known to have more than one planet making transits across their disks. It is from the tiny dips in brightness that these transits cause that the planets give away their presence.

The new discoveries announced by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California today range in size from 1.5 times the radius of the Earth to bigger than Jupiter. But more work will be required to tell which are rocky worlds like Earth and which have thick gaseous atmospheres.

The planets, which all lie closer to their parent stars than Venus does to the Sun, have “years” or orbital periods of between six and 143 days. Each of the newly confirmed planetary systems contains between two and five closely packed worlds.

Kepler scientists Doug Hudgins, of NASA HQ in Washington, said: “Prior to the Kepler mission, we knew of perhaps 500 exoplanets across the whole sky. Now, in just two years staring at a patch of sky not much bigger than your fist, Kepler has discovered more than 60 planets and more than 2,300 planet candidates. This tells us that our galaxy is positively loaded with planets of all sizes and orbits.”

Continues.

[FBM]

I'm helping as much as I can: http://www.planethunters.org/classify

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm helping as much as I can: http://www.planethunters.org/classify

When new planets are found, Ratz will find them!