Scientists have discovered 450 extrasolar planets to date and recently identified potentially 750 new ones. Samuel Arbesman, a computational biologist at Harvard Medical School, and Gregory Laughlin, astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have plotted data from previously discovered planets and devised a "habitability chart." The chart was based on factors such as a planet's surface temperature at the poles and equator and its mass, which determines its gravitational pull. From this data, the researchers claim that there is a 50 percent chance of finding a planet with habitable earthlike conditions by early May 2011, as well as a 75 percent chance of discovering such a planet by 2020. This potential finding could create a race between NASA and private scientists to capture the title of affirming the discovery.
-compiled by Maria Malas
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