NASA to hold conference on finding planets outside our solar system

Image: INQUIRER.net stock photo

NASA will be hosting a news conference on Wednesday, February 22 at 1 p.m. EST about the discovery of planets orbiting distant stars, also known as exoplanets. The news conference will be televised as well as streamed on NASA’s website.

According to a NASA press release, the details of the findings have been embargoed by the journal Nature until 1 p.m.

As it stands, there is limited seating at the NASA TV studio for the media. Those who will not be able to attend may ask questions via telephone. Attendance as well as asking questions via telephone will require the submission of an email containing the attendee’s name, affiliation and telephone number to Dwayne Brown at [email protected] by noon of February 22.

Below is the list of briefing participants:

– 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
– Sara Seager, professor of planetary science and physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

Afterwards, a Reddit AMA (“ask me anything”) about exoplanets will be held at 3 p.m. where scientists who can answer questions in English and Spanish will be available. Alfred Bayle/JB