How many planets are there in the universe?

According to estimates by astronomers based on the assumption that each star has a planet orbiting, the universe has about 100,000 billion billion planets.

How many planets are there in the universe? Picture 1

In the Milky Way alone, there are about 100 billion stars and an estimated number of planets about the same. To date, astronomers have discovered that in the Milky Way there are 5,5010 planets (including 8 planets in the solar system) orbiting other stars (called exoplanets).

Counting the number of planets is a difficult task. Mark Popinchalk, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, likens determining the total number of exoplanets to guessing how many people live in a city manually by trying to meet each one and counting them. sequence. And that's impossible so if you make an estimate based on the number of people living in a household and the number of families in the city it will be easier.

To date, all planets that have been discovered are located in the Milky Way. No one knows for sure if there are any planets outside the galaxy because they are too far away and difficult to observe.

 Popinchalk said that if the Milky Way has about 100 billion planets, and in the universe there are a trillion other galaxies, each with many such planets. After multiplying, there will be about 10,000 billion billion planets in the universe. Many people believe that at least one planet in the universe has life. And we will have to wait many more years to get the answer.

Micah Soto

Update 14 October 2023