Science
Related: About this forumNasa is holding a major press conference after its planet-hunting telescope made a new breakthrough
The Kepler space telescope is operated by Nasa to discover other earths, some of which could support life. And its latest discovery is significant enough to bring with it a huge press conference.
Very little further information was given about the announcement, which will take place on Thursday. But it will almost certainly relate to exoplanets Earth-sized worlds that orbit around their own stars, and are our best hope of finding alien life.
The space agency said that the discovery was made with the help of Google artificial intelligence, which is being used to analyse the data sent down by the telescope. By using machine learning provided by the tech giant, Nasa hopes that it can pick through the possible planets more quickly and hopefully find life-supporting planets sooner.
Nasa said that four engineers and scientists would take part in the session. They include Paul Hertz, who leads Nasas astrophysics division, a senior Google software engineer, and two scientists.
more
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-announcement-today-latest-kepler-breakthrough-google-ai-artificial-intelligence-a8102966.html
underpants
(182,826 posts)Binkie The Clown
(7,911 posts)It's like when the TV takes a short break in the middle of a stream of commercials to remind you what show you're watching.
What happened to patience?
I can wait till Thursday, and feel no need to speculate before then.
Jack-o-Lantern
(967 posts)DavidDvorkin
(19,479 posts)I dislike this drumming up of interest and fabricated tension.
Especially because I always want it to be aliens, and I'm always disappointed.