[Shryke]

I wasn't referring to the 25 years, which indeed may be a tad optimistic. The assumptive nature of the statistics are also true; however, they are very practical assumptions. We can, after all, pretty much be sure of the amunt of stars we can see, correct? The Hubble sees so many stars it borders on incomprehensible. The assumption that planets orbit alot of these stars is, in my opinion, very straightforward.

[Tom Bombadil]

The Hubble sees so many stars it borders on incomprehensible

I do find it incomprehensible. And it probably is safe to assume a great number of planets, given our own solar system. One still has to be careful that the language used in communicating research goals does not frame them as if they were already conclusions.

What got my attention was the apparent assumption of research outcome. "25 years" not only sounded optimistic to me, it seemed to presume an outcome. That is why I said, "they don't know". They are only hoping.