Planets Everywhere

This artist's cartoon view gives an impression of how common planets are around the stars in the Milky Way. The planets, their orbits and their host stars are all vastly magnified compared to their real separations. A six-year search that surveyed millions of stars using the micro-lensing technique concluded that planets around stars are the rule rather than the exception. The average number of planets per star is greater than one.

Illustration credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Note: For more information, see Planet Population is Plentiful. See also Study Shows Our Galaxy Has at Least 100 Billion Planets.