And suddenly, exoplanets galore!

(Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech)

The trickle of new exoplanet discoveries is quickly becoming a torrent, and the day of the announcement of the first true Earth analog appears to be rapidly approaching.  In just the last month or so:

Dec. 5, 2011: The first habitable Super-Earth is discovered in orbit around a sun-like star (close, but way too big to be considered "Earth-like").

Dec. 20, 2011:  The first Earth-sized exoplanets are discovered (although we don't yet know if they are terrestrial planets like Earth, or gaseous like Neptune).

And just today, two separate paradigm-bending stories:

(Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech)

Virtually every star in our galaxy has planets AND . . . Astronomers announce the discovery of a single planetary system with THREE terrestrial planets, all smaller than Earth . . . but not in the star's habitable zone.

Will the announcement of the first true Earth analog, a terrestrial planet located in the habitable zone of a star more or less like our Sun, occur in 2012?

Like many others, my guess is yes, it will.