--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The bottom line is, like, one in five…" description: "\"The bottom line is, like, one in five stars has at least one planet where life might spring up. That's a fantastically large percentage. That means in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/seth-shostak-2047_astronomy_the-bottom-line-is-like-one-in-five-star_2630493.png" --- # The bottom line is, like, one in five stars has at least… ![“The bottom line is, like, one in five stars has at least one planet where life might spring up. That's a fantastically large percentage. That means in our galaxy, there's on the order of tens of billions of Earth-like worlds.” quote by Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/seth-shostak-2047_astronomy_the-bottom-line-is-like-one-in-five-star_2630493.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/seth-shostak-2047_astronomy_the-bottom-line-is-like-one-in-five-star_2630493.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/seth-shostak-2047_astronomy_the-bottom-line-is-like-one-in-five-star_2630493.png) > “The bottom line is, like, one in five stars has at least one planet where life might spring up. That's a fantastically large percentage. That means in our galaxy, there's on the order of tens of billions of Earth-like worlds.” [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A significant fraction of stars likely host planets capable of supporting life, suggesting billions of Earth-like worlds in our galaxy. **In simple terms:** Many stars may have life‑friendly planets, implying billions of such worlds. Key Takeaway Consider the vast potential for extraterrestrial life. Themes astronomy exoplanets probability Mood wonder curiosity optimism Type scientific speculative When to use this quote - Scientific research - educational outreach - space policy - philosophical reflection Key Concepts Astrobiology Statistical inference Galactic scale Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would change this estimate? - How does this affect humanity’s self‑view? A Different Perspective The estimate relies on limited data and assumptions about habitability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) [Bottom line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bottom-line/) [Galaxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/galaxy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Planet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planet/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [If this is the only planet on which not only life, but intelligent life, has arisen, that would be very unusual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/if-this-is-the-only-planet-on-which-not-only-life-but-intelligent/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The extinction of Homo Sapiens would mean survival for millions, if not billions, of Earth-dwelling species. Phasing out the human race will solve every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/the-extinction-of-homo-sapiens-would-mean-survival-for-millions-if/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Girls should stop acting like it's the end of the world because it doesn't work out with one guy...move on. There's billions more on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-cook/girls-should-stop-acting-like-it-s-the-end-of-the-world-because-it/) [Stephanie Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-cook/) > [Our brains are continuing to evolve, and perhaps a few tens of thousands of years from now, our descendants will walk around with five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/our-brains-are-continuing-to-evolve-and-perhaps-a-few-tens-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The central region of the Milky Way, known as the bulge, is stuffed with literally tens of billions of stars. And most of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-central-region-of-the-milky-way-known-as-the-bulge-is-stuffed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [It's hard to imagine anything more interesting than learning how we're woven into the enormous tapestry of existence. Where did our universe come from?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/it-s-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-interesting-than-learning-how-we/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I don't think we are the only planet that has life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-don-t-think-we-are-the-only-planet-that-has-life/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [“Planet Earth. Our home. Our world. What makes Earth so special? We are the only known planet to have life!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-g-michaels/planet-earth-our-home-our-world-what-makes-earth-so-special-we-are/) Alexander G. Michaels > [The ocean is our planet's life support system, yet in my travels and at home, I've seen its degradation firsthand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-macgillivray/the-ocean-is-our-planet-s-life-support-system-yet-in-my-travels-and/) [Greg MacGillivray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-macgillivray/) > [“If the rocky ejecta from an impact hails from a planet with life, then microscopic fauna could have stowed away in the rocks’ nooks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-the-rocky-ejecta-from-an-impact-hails-from-a-planet-with-life-then/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It drives me crazy to see so much of this planet's life so casually endangered. The first steps are so easy (drive smaller cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/it-drives-me-crazy-to-see-so-much-of-this-planet-s-life-so-casually/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [If we were to care about every person suffering on this planet, life would shut down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shore/if-we-were-to-care-about-every-person-suffering-on-this-planet-life/) [David Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shore/) > [If our solar system is not unusual, then there are so many planets in the universe that, for example, they outnumber the sum of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/if-our-solar-system-is-not-unusual-then-there-are-so-many-planets-in/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Titan is the one place in our solar system whose geographical and atmospheric diversity and complexity are rivaled only by the Earth's. It's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-porco/titan-is-the-one-place-in-our-solar-system-whose-geographical-and/) [Carolyn Porco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-porco/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Seth Shostak > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. But just about everyone would like to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/sure-nobody-will-make-a-fortune-if-we-figure-out-why-the-big-bang/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If you could drive straight down, into a tunnel bored through the crust of the planet, you'd hit this molten mess in about an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/if-you-could-drive-straight-down-into-a-tunnel-bored-through-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [While I have always thought that the motivation for looking for E.T. was both self-evident and patently worthy, it's possible that I'm a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/while-i-have-always-thought-that-the-motivation-for-looking-for-e-t/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was-reading-stuff-from-cicero/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [This plucky NASA telescope is able to find planets en masse. If you compare planet hunting to prospecting for gold, then Kepler is equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/this-plucky-nasa-telescope-is-able-to-find-planets-en-masse-if-you/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of energy - for example black holes, or even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthetic-sentience-might-be-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Buying insurance is no one's idea of fun. And it's especially easy to berate something as funky-sounding as writing checks to defend our neighborhoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/buying-insurance-is-no-one-s-idea-of-fun-and-it-s-especially-easy-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Explore all 189 Seth Shostak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## More Astronomy quotes > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Wen daylight turns to a darkened hue, D lovely stars hinting at u, ur heart beat tells u something true, That some 1 badly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/wen-daylight-turns-to-a-darkened-hue-d-lovely-stars-hinting-at-u-ur/) Butterfly\_Kisses > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Sentinels of trees breathe life into bodies of earthly flesh As their mighty arms reach to the stars we join in their quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramon-ravenswood/sentinels-of-trees-breathe-life-into-bodies-of-earthly-flesh-as-their/) [Ramon Ravenswood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramon-ravenswood/) > [“If there are no stars on the sky, you must try to be happy with the shining streetlights!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-are-no-stars-on-the-sky-you-must-try-to-be-happy-with-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars." ... quote has been credited to Les Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylviek/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-it-you-will-land-among-the-stars/) Sylviek > [When certain stars take you under their wing, it does help as they gauge your potential and are willing to work with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/when-certain-stars-take-you-under-their-wing-it-does-help-as-they/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) [Browse all 6,190 Astronomy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The bottom line is, like, one in five stars has at least one planet where life might spring up. That's a fantastically large percentage. 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