NASA's big announcement

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Ender
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NASA's big announcement

Post by Ender »

WASHINGTON -- NASA has scheduled a media teleconference Wednesday, May 14, at 1 p.m. EDT, to announce the discovery of an object in our Galaxy astronomers have been hunting for more than 50 years. This finding was made by combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory with ground-based observations.

To participate in the teleconference, reporters must contact the Chandra Press Office at 617-496-7998 or e-mail mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu. Live audio of the teleconference will be streamed online at:


http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

A video file about the discovery will air on NASA Television on May 14. NASA TV is carried on an MPEG-2 digital signal accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder 17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. NASA TV is available in Alaska and Hawaii on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at 4060 MHz, horizontal polarization.

For information about NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/chandra
linka

Thoughts? My bet is direct observation of dark matter since we have only indirectly seen it before.
Last edited by Ender on 2008-05-13 01:06pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Kitsune »

I get an error message from the link
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Post by Ender »

try again now
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Post by Kitsune »

Thanks...probably will not be able to catch it initially, dark matter would be exciting though.....
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Post by Molyneux »

Crap...we have to wait a whole day for it?
At least I have finals to distract me from the waiting, so I shouldn't go too crazy...
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Post by Ender »

Ok, and for a little "WTF" and paranoia building, this statement was just released. :P
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Post by Kitsune »

Ender wrote:Ok, and for a little "WTF" and paranoia building, this statement was just released. :P
Would Chandra be useful in detecting ET?
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Post by Ender »

Kitsune wrote:
Ender wrote:Ok, and for a little "WTF" and paranoia building, this statement was just released. :P
Would Chandra be useful in detecting ET?
I doubt it. Personally, my guess is they found a primordial black hole.
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Post by Patrick Degan »

Could they perhaps have definitively confirmed the presence of a supermassive black hole at the galactic core?
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Post by wautd »

I vote for Russell's Teapot
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Post by Shinova »

Patrick Degan wrote:Could they perhaps have definitively confirmed the presence of a supermassive black hole at the galactic core?
Would they schedule a fancy media conference in advance for a discovery like that?
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Post by Ender »

Ok, guy I know at another forum who works for NASA in the dark matter studies is gloating that he knows what it is but can't say. So my guess is now direct observation of dark matter, even though it has only been 33 years since Rubin provided evidence for it, not 50.
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Post by Fire Fly »

Damn it, I thought the teleconference was going to be today but from reading the clipping further, it'll be tomorrow. And here I am, I've been waiting for the news audio to start streaming for the past two hours.

My initial impression was dark matter as well. I was hoping for something a little more grandiose but dark matter will work.
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Post by CaptainChewbacca »

Didn't einstein posit the existence of darkmatter that long ago?
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Post by Kanastrous »

Ender wrote:Ok, and for a little "WTF" and paranoia building, this statement was just released. :P
Sounds like the Vatican owes Giordano Bruno a public apology, like the one issued Galileo.

Didn't they murder Bruno, for his suggestion that there may be other worlds, bearing other life?
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Post by Commander 598 »

Is the dark matter thing or the possible black hole at the center of the galaxy that we pretty much already know about actually worth a special conference that riles up all the UFO tin hatters?
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Post by Dracofrost »

Observation of dark matter definately would be. Not sure about the black hole though.
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Post by Darth Raptor »

Most people don't even know what dark matter is. I'm going to guess it's a terrestrial planet.
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Post by Ender »

Darth Raptor wrote:Most people don't even know what dark matter is. I'm going to guess it's a terrestrial planet.
Can you see a terrestrial planet with an X-ray telescope? I thought it only saw in the X-ray band, which a terrestrial planet would not emit much of
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Post by Patrick Degan »

Commander 598 wrote:Is the dark matter thing or the possible black hole at the center of the galaxy that we pretty much already know about actually worth a special conference that riles up all the UFO tin hatters?
Confirmation of a black hole at galaxy centre would be a very significant find, as it would pin down a definite theory of galaxy formation. The direct observation of dark matter would have profound cosmological significance regarding the final fate of our universe. In astrophysical sciences terms, either would be worth a special press conference.
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Post by Singular Intellect »

I can only dream it would be ET life.

But I'm fairly sure it be some type of astronomical material that will be somewhat interesting in comparison.
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Post by Darth Servo »

ImageAnd its headed this way. :P
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Post by Singular Intellect »

Darth Servo wrote:And its headed this way. :P
Yeah, right. I'll believe that when I actually get results from my attempted telekinesis efforts! :P
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Post by Darth Ruinus »

Ender wrote:Ok, and for a little "WTF" and paranoia building, this statement was just released. :P
You know, for a second there, for a split split second, I thought, maybe, maybe.

Goddam it felt awesome.

But yeah, its probably that black hole or maybe dark matter. Those would be cool too though.
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Post by Chardok »

Make fun of me if you want, but I'm going to live in a world where we're making first contact until the 14th and I'm told otherwise.
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