From BBC.Co.UK, January 8, 2013
"Astronomers say that one in six stars hosts an Earth-sized planet in a close orbit - suggesting a total of 17 billion such planets in our galaxy.
"The result comes from an analysis of planet candidates gathered by Nasa's Kepler space observatory.
"The Kepler scientists also announced 461 new planet candidates, bringing the satellites' total haul to 2,740.
"Their findings were announced at the 221st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in California."
By the way, if you are interested in identifying the stars and planets with your smart phone, download the SkyView App. It's amazing. See their link here for the iPhone. I understand it's available for other phones as well.
