OT - "major" space science discovery to be announced Monday

Submitted by superstringer on

A big-name US astrophysics research center has a "major discovery" to be announced Monday afternoon:

http://www.space.com/25066-major-astrophysics-discovery-announcement-monday.html

I scanned some blogs and, aside from jokes (like, "the aliens who stole the Malasian airplane"), there's no consensus of what the announcement will be.  Some of the possibilities:

-- An Earth-like planet -- something around Earth's mass, in the "habitable zone" of a star

-- Confirmation of the "multiverse" theory, which would hugely change our perception of just what "is" the universe

-- The nature of dark matter and/or dark energy, which if true would be like instant-Nobel prize for whomever figured it out.  Although, this particular center isn't likely to be home to that kind of discovery; that's more theoretical than observational.

OR THE HOLY GRAIL:

-- Confirmation of alien life detected via signals.

That last one would be so ridiculously huge, there's a suspicion no one could keep it under wraps.  You'd need it confirmed ten and twenty times over, and by then, someone would spill the beans.  And it probably wouldn't just be a "major discovery" -- it wuold be something like, "OMG THIS IS SO FRICKIN HUGELY IMPORTANT Y'ALL BETTER GET YOUR BUTTS HERE TO LISTEN ON MONDAY."  That's a couple degrees above "major."

Any guesses?

a2_electricboogaloo

March 14th, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^

Because it's astrophysicists wholes making the announcement is guess it would be dark matter or multiverse, rather than life (which would like be announced by astrobiologists) or an earth like planet (which would probably not fall into the realm of astrophysics either)

Darker Blue

March 14th, 2014 at 3:25 PM ^

An asteroid or comet is whizzing through space and headed right for the earth and humanity is packing up and leaving.  Tom Crean isn't invited on the journey. 

Snow Sucks

March 14th, 2014 at 3:37 PM ^

I'm fairly confident that the general population will only know of alien life until it lands on Earth unexpectadly. What I mean is if the goverments around this world know alien life exists, they won't announce it...ever.

Danwillhor

March 14th, 2014 at 8:32 PM ^

It would cause mass hysteria and especially with people/Nations that have certain......umm......dug in beliefs that cannot be removed no matter the evidence (is that a rule breaker?). They'd keep it secret due to fear of panic, mass hysteria and horrible reaction by those that could cause mass damage upon hearing/seeing facts that they're life's beliefs, what they based every decision and opinion on, are wrong. (IN NO WAY AM I GOING IN ANY DIRECTION WITH WHAT I OR ANYONE BELIEVES, NOR AM I SAYING ANY BELIEF SYSTEM IS RIGHT OUR WRONG. JUST WHY IT WOULD BE KEPT A SECRET AS SOCIETY AND THOSE WITH CERTAIN BELIEFS COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE HYSTERIA OR MUCH WORSE. Again, just one reason why that is, IMO, fact. Not a yay or nay for religion)

Danwillhor

March 14th, 2014 at 8:37 PM ^

1) their. 2) or. 3) Mass panic/hysteria could just as easily come from everyday people by the way of: Fear of attack, fear of the thought of the meaning of life, etc. Again, not a religious post but an answer that is just obvious and admitted in the scientific community.

celtic586

March 14th, 2014 at 3:38 PM ^

changing careers to do stand up comedy...

 

Bartender:  Sorry, but we don't serve subatomic particles that travel faster than the speed of light here.

A tachyon walks into a bar.
 

Perkis-Size Me

March 14th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^

An asteroid the size of Texas is hurtling its way towards Earth. It will impact within a matter of weeks, killing everything and everyone we know.

Unless, of course, Bruce Willis steps in to save us all.

imMaizeNBlu

March 14th, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^

Some major announcement from Curiosity that they had found some major discovery on Mars that would change the history books forever and then retracted that statement and said it was nothing ?