Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
I would guess on average every star has more than one planet, but the smaller planets are too difficult to detect.
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I would assume this is built into the estimation calculations, i.e. you make an estimate of those earth-like planets you can detect and extrapolate using a larger multiplier than Jupiter-size planets.
It's the same way astronomers estimate the numbers of different types of stars in the galaxy (in this analogy, earth-size planets would be the red dwarfs and Jupiters would be white and blue stars).