That's what we'll be seeing as the years go on with the Kepler mission, because it was designed to find many Earths.

BBC: Kepler telescope: Earth-sized planets 'number 17bn'

William Borucki, the driving force behind and principal investigator on the Kepler mission, said he was "delighted" by the fresh batch of results.

BBC: Kepler telescope: Earth-sized planets 'number 17bn'

Dr Boss estimates that Nasa's Kepler mission, due for launch in March, should begin finding some of these Earth-like planets within the next few years.

BBC: Galaxy has 'billions of Earths'

The Kepler mission has identified 132 planets beyond our solar system since its launch in 2009, leading scientists to believe that most stars in our galaxy have planets circling them.

CNN: Planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft in trouble

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: A simulation based on data from NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission has determined that about one out of every six stars has an Earth-sized planet, which would translate to at least 17 billion such worlds in our Milky Way galaxy.

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And because what we're finding - planets that are bigger than Jupiter or smaller than Mercury, denser than iron or lighter than styrofoam - Bill Borucki, the Kepler Mission's principal investigator, believes the next ten or 15 years is going to be even more exciting than the last.

BBC: From counting to characterising exoplanets

Kepler completed its primary three-and-a-half year mission last November, Nasa says, and is now in an extended mission phase.

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