NASA News Conference on Discovery Beyond Our Solar System

[DapperDanMan]

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-ne...

18:00 GMT 22nd February 2017

Exoplanet discovery to be aired via live feed on NASA TV.

Edited by DapperDanMan on Wednesday 22 February 07:54

[jmorgan]

More planets, or proof of life.......

[DapperDanMan]

Would more planets be a major discovery?

Proof of life however........

[jmorgan]

They had discovered one of them wandering planets recently.

Edit. Spitzer seems to be the focus of attention.

[Eric Mc]

Could be a "wandering" planet i.e. one drifting between the stars.

Although on reading the link, I think it's more to do with an earth like planet orbiting another star. Perhaps they now have definite evidence of such a planet having abundant oxygen in its atmosphere?

[jmorgan]

Thought Spitzer was a counter not a looker. Maybe it provided the guide for a closer look.

Osfki to the spitzer site.

[jmorgan]

My mistake, getting me space telescopes mixed up.

However, one snippet from 2015 for Spitzer.
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/6057-sig15-0...

Missed this, they can get quite a lot of info.

[AshVX220]

Just so none of you guys miss this, 1pm EST is 6pm GMT, not 8pm as the OP has stated.

[Morningside]

Hate to be a grumpy git. But if we do find a sustainable planet 10 billion, billion light years away it may have already died out. Plus by the time we actually get there the party will be over.

[jmorgan]

Morningside said:

Hate to be a grumpy git. But if we do find a sustainable planet 10 billion, billion light years away it may have already died out. Plus by the time we actually get there the party will be over.

Not sure we can see past the big bang?

[DapperDanMan]

AshVX220 said:

Just so none of you guys miss this, 1pm EST is 6pm GMT, not 8pm as the OP has stated.

I saw it first on a different site and it said 8PM

[Eric Mc]

Morningside said:

Hate to be a grumpy git. But if we do find a sustainable planet 10 billion, billion light years away it may have already died out. Plus by the time we actually get there the party will be over.

None of the exo-planets we have found so far are more than a few hundred light years away. Still pretty far - but close in stellar terms.

[Ste1987]

They're discovering new planets all the time, so whatever they're going to announce at this press conference must be something of major signifance. The suspense is killing me!

[jmorgan]

They have announced stuff before that is a bit mundane, if there is anything mundane about space. I hope it is a big though. How about a planet that looks right, sun is OK and the planet orbits in the right zone and suspect an atmosphere?

[Eric Mc]

NASA holds press conferences all the time - so it could be a fairly "ordinary" announcement. On the other hand, it might be that the aliens are on their way to see their leader -

[jmorgan]

Aliens.
"Oh noes, that poor wig has a nasty growth out its bottom"

[AshVX220]

jmorgan said:

They have announced stuff before that is a bit mundane, if there is anything mundane about space. I hope it is a big though. How about a planet that looks right, sun is OK and the planet orbits in the right zone and suspect an atmosphere?

I thought some of these had already been discovered?

[jmorgan]

There are discoveries but with certain caveats in the accuracy of the findings.

Some stuff here but much above my ken.
http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu

Google chucks up a few other sites that break the info down for mere mortals like me.

[DapperDanMan]

Hurry up 18:00

[Eric Mc]

TV link -

http://www.vox.com/2017/2/22/14697786/nasa-announc...