About 40 percent of red dwarf stars have super-Earths

I should rename this blog 100 Billion Habitable Planets.

A European team said that about 40 percent of red dwarf stars - the most common type in the Milky Way - have a so-called "super-Earth" planet orbiting in a habitable zone that would allow water to flow on the surface. 

Since there are around 160 billion red dwarfs in the Milky Way, the number of worlds that are potentially warm enough and wet enough to support life is enormous.

'Tens of billions' of habitable exoplanets in Milky Way

Kepler discovers 26 new planets

Via Slashdot.org:

"NASA's Kepler mission has discovered 11 new planetary systems hosting 26 confirmed planets. These discoveries nearly double the number of verified planets and triple the number of stars known to have more than one planet that transits, or passes in front of, the star. Such systems will help astronomers better understand how planets form."

NASA's Kepler Discovers 11 Systems Hosting 26 Planets