re: So what is NASA announcing Wednesday?

Stargate SG1 was real like the Wormhole Extreme episode.

A TV show inside a TV show inside a secret government agency saving the world

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So it is definitely about exoplanets beyond our solar system. I assume they have analyzed the atmosphere(s) and will announce earth like conditions but we'll see I guess.

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If it is that the atmosphere of an exoplanet has been analyzed and, particularly, if oxygen has been detected in that atmosphere, it will be the most profound discovery in the history of life. The presence of oxygen would prove the presence of life.

Of course, if the above had been discovered I would think the announcement would have already been made with astounding fanfare. Indications are that something new has been discovered but it's most likely not the presence of life on an exoplanet.

1:00 Eastern time zone.

I realize that NASA may not divulge certain info to us and likely partake in a few things for the military but they aren't going to mars without the entire world knowing about it in short order. Doesn't work that way. Can't work that way.

I work at NASA MAF (GE). They aren't announcing anything crazy.

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Basically man would have made several successful trips to mars before its announced that the first man is going to mars.

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What about a fake Mars landing?

A nutshell synopsis of the discovery:

1. Seven earth-sized exoplanets have been found to be orbiting Trappist-1, a red dwarf star about 40 light years from earth,

2. Three of the exoplanets, T-1e, f and g are within the star's habitable zone,

3. All of the three exoplanets orbiting within the habitable zone are nearly identical to the earth in size and mass. Additionally, T-1e gets about the same amount of light from Trappist-1 that earth gets from the sun;

4. Because of their proximity to Trappist-1, all of the exoplanets are most likely tidally locked to the star, meaning they keep one side oriented to the star and the other to space;

5. Trappist-1 is likely to be very old because it is a quiet dwarf. Dwarf stars are quite active in their youth and pose problems for their planets since their radiation storms can blow off atmospheres of nearby bodies;

6. The orbital periods for the exoplanets range from about 1.5 days to 20 days;

7. The distances of the exoplanets range out to a maximum of a few million miles;

8. The T-1 exoplanets will be intensely studied using other telescopes and will be prime targets for the James Webb Space Telescope when it launches next year;

9. The Trappist-1 system has been previously studied by SETI. No signals were detected from any of the exoplanets.

e, f and g are within the habitable zone

This was a pretty big discovery in the amount of habitable planets or possible habitable planets. I suspect that there are innumerable amounts of similar systems throughout the galaxy. When the new telescope is launched next year I suppose this system will be top priority and I frankly can't wait. This is a great time to be alive. Anyone have any thoughts or predictions on atmospheric compositions?