Astronomers at the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Hawaii have released the findings of a new study that claims that in the Milky Way galaxy alone, there could be tens of billions of Earth-like planets. The researchers calculated the number of stars in our galaxy that also have planets in a proximity that the surface temperature is warm enough to support life and not too cold that all water would be frozen. According to their research, there are about 40 billion planets that fit those requirements that could, in theory, support life. The “closest” is 12 light years away. Geoffrey Marcy, a professor at Berkeley, said that when you consider that the study only looks at our own galaxy—and the universe is made up of billions of galaxies—the findings become even more astonishing. He told USA Today, “With tens of billions of Earth-like planets in each galaxy, our entire universe must contain billions of billions of Earth-like planets.” According to our own calculations, that makes an actual William Shatner vs. alien reptile monster wrestling match at least somewhat plausible …
