An international team of scientists has counted the number of planets potentially suitable for the development of extraterrestrial forms of living organisms. According to the findings of the researchers, the Milky Way may contain up to 300 million inhabited planets. The results of the work are presented in an article published in The Astronomical Journal, briefly about the study reported in a press release on Phys.org.
The researchers analyzed the Kepler DR25 catalog of candidate planets and the properties of the host stars based on Gaia data. Scientists examined exoplanets whose radius reaches 0.5-1.5 of the Earth's radius, as well as those with a rocky surface and orbiting sun-like stars of the same age and temperature as the Sun (4800-6300 K). In addition, astronomers took into account such an important factor as the presence of liquid water, which depends on the amount of light falling on the planet.
According to the findings of scientists, with a 95 percent probability, the nearest habitable planet is located at a distance of about six parsecs (about 20 light years) from the Sun. Within 10 parsecs (32 light years) of the Sun, there are approximately four rocky planets orbiting a red dwarf or sun-like star.
