NASA to Host News Conference on Discovery Beyond Our Solar System

[Stub Mandrel]

Well three of them are experts in exoplanet atmospherics.

The big hope has to be they've found evidence of free oxygen in a planetary atmosphere. As far as I'm concerned that would be the evidence for life we can hope for with present technologies (short of a radio message!) More likely would be the signature of water which would be almost as compelling.

[goodricke1]

8 hours ago, johnfosteruk said:

Wishing that's not true, wishing that's not true. 

So you don't think they'll be announcing that they found life then

Looks like the cat is out of the bag - 7 exos around a nearby star:

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2017/02/spitzer-discove.html

[symesie04]

Wouldnt a Oxygen atmosphere be proof of life anyway? Water on its own doesnt produce oxygen, Earth had oceans before it had a oxygen based atmosphere. Giant coral type pods became common during this period and their waste product was oxygen, without them the rest of life wouldnt exist.

 

15 hours ago, goodricke1 said:

Looks like the cat is out of the bag - 7 exos around a nearby star:

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2017/02/spitzer-discove.html

Hmm its exciting news but almost a anti climax if correct.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Exo planets (the discovery of) is a bit of an anti-climax. Its like "ok!!!, get on with it. Only a few trillion more to find in the universe". If they find water or oxygen or both on one of those exos thats when things get interesting.

[Davey-T]

Interesting program on NASA TV ATM, eating the first crop of lettuce grown in space.

Shame about the musical accompaniment.

Dave

[Knight of Clear Skies]

15 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Interesting program on NASA TV ATM, eating the first crop of lettuce grown in space.

Odd to think there is more iceberg lettuce on the ISS than there is in Tescos right now, that usually only happens after a major apocalypse.

[symesie04]

1 hour ago, Knight of Clear Skies said:

Odd to think there is more iceberg lettuce on the ISS than there is in Tescos right now, that usually only happens after a major apocalypse.

Yes it seems there is a world wide epidemic of mad lettuce disease.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I wonder if it is anything to do with this: 4 exos orbiting their parent star. This was posted a couple of weeks ago on SGL and i think its the greatest astronomy image/video that ive ever seen.

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/a-four-planet-system-in-orbit-directly-imaged-and-remarkable/

[spike95609]

I saw it reported in newspapers this morning, the news that NASA is going to reveal some news at some point during the next few hours. Why report this in newspapers? It's not really news to announce that there will probably be some news later on.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Lets all calm down take deep breaths. Just remember, what excites us mere mortal backyard astronomers and what excites NASA scientists,astro fizzycysts are 2 completely different things.

Giant space ants indeed!!!!!!!!!. Their exo-skeleton couldnt support their own weight.

Is this the correct NASA feed for the press conference?

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/#public

[jjosefsen]

Aaaaaand they oversold it.. Again..

Or maybe we are just hoping too much for that "we found signs of life" message.

[bejay1957]

22 hours ago, goodricke1 said:

Looks like the cat is out of the bag - 7 exos around a nearby star:

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2017/02/spitzer-discove.html

Good catch!

[ringz]

For some reason I just can't get interested in exoplanets, it just seems to me to just be a collection of artist's impressions and speculation.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'll have to watch the rerun and run it through my tv. My laptop speakers are useless. I could barely hear a word of it. Interesting, but nothing majorly exciting. I was hoping that they would know a bit more other than speculation about the composition of the atmospheres of these exos.

7 Earth sized planets (all rocky planets?)........3 of which are within the "Goldie Locks" zone of their parent star, which could POTENTIALLY  have water or water vapour in their atmosphere. Not a bad day at the office for exo planets finders. All only 40 LY's away from us.

Hopefully by the time our parent star goes boom, we will know more about these potentially habital planets and have the technology to go there to ensure the survival of humankind.

I'm not sure how any life which may exist on these planets, will feel about us Humans moving in.

The nearest planet to the parent star, has an orbit of 9 days?. Did i hear that correctly?. Talk about "live fast,die young". In 1 Earth year, if i lived on that planet....i'd be 40 yrs old.

365/9=40.5

 

 

 

[John]

I think it's significant news because i) of the nature of the host star (relatively small and cool),  ii) 7 Earth-size exoplanets in one system and iii) 3 of them within what is currently referred to as the "habitable zone".

Anyway, NASA will be running trips there soon, apparently

 

[Davey-T]

Pretty underwhelming for all the embargo on it, a few planets with no particulars about them tearing round a red dwarf, if their was life it must be permanently stressed unless they're tidally locked in orbit.

Dave

[LukeSkywatcher]

7 minutes ago, John said:

I think it's significant news because i) of the nature of the host star (relatively small and cool),  ii) 7 Earth-size exoplanets in one system and iii) 3 of them within what is currently referred to as the "habitable zone".

Anyway, NASA will be running trips there soon, apparently

 

What i found interesting the most was the fact that the parent star is way older and smaller than our own Sun, yet relatively speaking, all 3 of the planets (Earth sized) in "the zone" get the same amount of "sunlight and temperatures", that our own planet gets from our Sun.

Also interesting to hear that none of them actually spin/rotate on their own axis (they always have one side facing their Sun). By all accounts it sounds like a solar system still in the making. Maybe in time, the dynamics of the system will change due to centrifugal force and the planets will change position/orbit before finally settling down?.

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

12 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

Pretty underwhelming for all the embargo on it, a few planets with no particulars about them tearing round a red dwarf, if their was life it must be permanently stressed unless they're tidally locked in orbit.

Dave

I did hear something (i think) about them being tidally locked in orbit.

P.S.~~i really dont think the artist impressions of the planets help anyone. Its like looking at Hubble type images and expecting to see the same through your telescope.

They have no clue as to how these planets look, so dont show us artists impressions. The planets could be pink with yellow spots for all we know. Just give us the raw scientific facts which you do know about them. We can handle it. We are astronomers afterall.

 

[popeye85]

1 hour ago, ringz said:

For some reason I just can't get interested in exoplanets, it just seems to me to just be a collection of artist's impressions and speculation.

I can't get enough of them! Especially if the parent star is observable,  to look at a tiny point of light through my scope and imagine that there is a real possibility that  orbiting it is a planet with all sorts of weird and wonderful life forms on it, who knows maybe even advanced civilisation?? To me that is one of the most exciting parts of astronomy and the thrill I get about that possibility is worth standing in a cold muddy field all night!!

[LukeSkywatcher]

6 minutes ago, popeye85 said:

I can't get enough of them! Especially if the parent star is observable,  to look at a tiny point of light through my scope and imagine that there is a real possibility that  orbiting it is a planet with all sorts of weird and wonderful life forms on it, who knows maybe even advanced civilisation?? To me that is one of the most exciting parts of astronomy and the thrill I get about that possibility is worth standing in a child muddy field all night!!

Dontcha just hate child muddy fields.

[Davey-T]

What all this seems to prove is there's no such thing as a typical solar system so ours may well be unusual making the possibility of life as we know it less  likely.

Dave

[Butroz]

I quite liked this for easy comparison.

[LukeSkywatcher]

20 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

What all this seems to prove is there's no such thing as a typical solar system so ours may well be unusual making the possibility of life as we know it less  likely.

Dave

I took the news as the complete opposite. If anything, this Tappist solar system is the closest to our own that has been discovered to date and potentially has the greatest chance of harbouring/developing life of any description in the future. We kind of know the factors/conditions here on this planet which allowed life to evolve. Therefore we look for similar factors/conditions out there in the wider universe. This solar system at first glance seems to fit the criteria for at least having the slightest chance of life within it now or in the future. 

I know its not as ground breaking as this or as simple, but its a start.

I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that life somewhere else in the universe to happen, does not need to follow the same conditions which created it here on Earth.

I mean, seriously can say that life ANYWHERE, needs water to evolve,grow,live. It doesnt need to be so. Its just what we know.

 

[popeye85]

29 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

Dontcha just hate child muddy fields.

Doh! Sorted now! ??

[John]

21 minutes ago, Davey-T said:

What all this seems to prove is there's no such thing as a typical solar system so ours may well be unusual making the possibility of life as we know it less  likely.

Dave

It's a big old Universe though