upcoming NASA Kepler announcement - about what?

[Blackpuddin]

'Big' announcement due to be made on Thursday about Kepler telescope discovery. Recent 'big announcements' have put NASA in danger of getting a reputation for crying wolf, but will this one be different? What do the boffins on here think it might be about?

[ATG]

Dark matter near Uranus?

[FurtiveFreddy]

[Wobbegong]

Kepler was left to auto run and found exoplanets on its own maybe? Just thinking of the link with google AI and the main people presenting.

[Blackpuddin]

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/huge-object-pas...

[Eric Mc]

Blackpuddin said:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/huge-object-pas...

Already covered in two other threads.

I don't think it will have anything to do with the interstellar asteroid.

I'm pretty sure it will be about extra-solar planets.

[FurtiveFreddy]

[Derek Smith]

Are there any rumours? Or, come to that, a time of the announcement.

[Blackpuddin]

Derek Smith said:

Are there any rumours? Or, come to that, a time of the announcement.

6pm GMT apparently. Sounds a bit churlish but I hope it will be more than a few more exoplanets as we've already got upwards of 7500 of them.

[Blackpuddin]

I wonder if there is any connection between what's about to be announced and Trump's recent signing-off of the 'more lunar exploration' budget.

[jmorgan]

Possible life discovered.....

[Blackpuddin]

where are you reading that?

[jmorgan]

jmorgan just posted it above......

[Blackpuddin]

d'oh, I got all excited then

I wonder what the world's reaction will be if it really is the discovery of alien life.

[jmorgan]

Don't know what Kepler can see, wander off in a minute to see what it can see with regards planets atmospheres (and refresh what it actually does).

If we do find life, I believe it will be through examining an atmosphere not in person.

[Blackpuddin]

I was hoping to see someone waving.

[Eric Mc]

jmorgan said:

Don't know what Kepler can see, wander off in a minute to see what it can see with regards planets atmospheres (and refresh what it actually does).

If we do find life, I believe it will be through examining an atmosphere not in person.

Undoubtedly.

Abundance of oxygen in a planet's atmosphere is a strong indication that biological processes might be happening on that planet.

[jmorgan]

In a way you can I would have thought.

I suppose.

Kepler detects through dimming of the star (re reading) so I am barking up the wrong tree with regards atmosphere? Someone able to expand on this?
How about Earth sized in the right spot and they think it has water and a good surface......

[travel is dangerous]

If kepler can do spectroscopy (I guess it can) you can look for characteristic absorptions of various wavelengths of light so you can (in principle) detect atmospheric composition,

[Blackpuddin]

Eric Mc said:

Abundance of oxygen in a planet's atmosphere is a strong indication that biological processes might be happening on that planet.

Not that oxygen is a pre-requisite for life, of course.