In a few hours, NASA will reveal a new discovery it has made “beyond our solar system” relating to a certain exoplanet. For space buffs, this is pretty exciting stuff. Click here to watch NASA’s news announcement live.
NASA is becoming quite adept at stoking stargazer excitement with these “secret” revelations. To the agency’s credit, the eventual news announcements are usually worth the wait – such as the discovery of water on Mars and the so-called ‘Earth 2.0’. We have no idea what tomorrow’s announcement will be, but we have a feeling it’ll be worth getting up early for.
Here’s everything you need to know about NASA’s news, including a link to the live stream.
What time is NASA’s news announcement taking place in Australia?
The NASA event is scheduled to take place on 23 February, 5am AEDST.
What did NASA discover?
NASA has teased that the announcement has to do with exoplanets, which are planets that orbit stars other than our Sun. Other than that, it’s not giving anything away.
Could it be a new Earth-like discovery? Proof of microbial life in another solar system? Full-blown aliens? Or some complex physics relating to orbits and axises that normal people won’t care about? All will be revealed shortly!
For a primer on exoplanets, head to NASA’s website which has a dedicated page on the subject.
Who at NASA is making the announcement?
Present at the briefing will be Thomas Zurbuchen (associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington), Michael Gillon (astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium), Sean Carey (manager of NASA’s Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC, Pasadena, California), Nikole Lewis (astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore) and Sara Seager (professor of planetary science and physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge).
There may also be a mathematician, a different kind of mathematician and a statistician.
How to watch the NASA event live
You can watch the entire NASA briefing unfold at NASA TV which will be providing a live stream of the announcement. Click here to watch NASA’s announcement!
I have questions for NASA! How do I get in touch?
You can ask questions to be answered at the briefing by using the #askNASA hashtag on twitter. A Reddit AMA about exoplanets will also be held following the briefing at 7am AEST.
Further Reading: NASA: Life On Mars A Distinct Possibility | Everything You Need To Know About ‘Earth 2.0’
Additional reporting by Rae Johnston.
Comments