Hubble discovers 100 new exoplanets

One of the most promising ways for narrowing the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence is to first look for places where ET might be living. And today the BBC is reporting that the Hubble Space Telescope may have discovered 100 new planets orbiting stars in our galaxy. If confirmed this would almost double the number of known exoplanets to about 230. Most of these planets are gas giants, the size of Jupiter or greater. But as it becomes apparent that many stars harbour planetary systems, the likelihood of finding an Earth-like planet (and thus Earth-like life) increases. See the BBC report: Hubble discovers 100 new planets