美國太空總署（NASA）宣佈，將在美國東岸時間周三下午1時（本港時間周四凌晨2時）舉行記者會，公佈有關系外行星的新發現。由於是次記者會部署甚為「大陣仗」，外界猜測或是對有適合孕育生命環境的系外行星細節，有重大發現。

這次記者會將在太空總署的網站和電視台直播，有關發現的報告亦會在英國《自然》期刊發表。記者會的五名講者，包括系外行星研究的星級人馬、麻省理工學院的西格（Sara Seager）和比利時列日大學的吉隆（Michael Gillon），亦有太空總署斯皮策（Spitzer）太空望遠鏡的科學家，該望遠鏡專門觀察行星的紅外線，有助分析行星的大氣層細節。

CNET網站記者指這次的宣佈，將是去年發現最接近太陽恒星比鄰星（Proxima Centauri）有行星後，最大的系外行星新聞，並稱已優先看過《自然》的發表報告，但在報道解禁前不能透露詳情，只形容新發現「日後可為很多科幻小說提供設定背景」。

上周天文學界亦有系外行星的新發現，英國赫特福德大學領導的國際研究團，對1,600顆接近太陽系的恒星作出近6.1萬次觀察，發現60顆系外行星，並發現可能另有54顆行星的證據。新發現的系外行星中以「格利澤411b」（Gliese 411b）最突出，它圍繞離太陽第四近的恒星公轉，屬於質量比地球大的「超級地球」。暫時未知NASA的明天的公佈是否與此有關。

英國《每日郵報》/CNET網站/《蘋果》資料室

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/realtime/international/20170222/56332128

NASA to Host News Conference on Discovery Beyond Our Solar System

NASA will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 22, to present new findings on planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets. The event will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Details of these findings are embargoed by the journal Nature until 1 p.m.

Limited seating is available in the NASA TV studio for media who would like to attend in person at the agency’s Headquarters at 300 E Street SW in Washington. Media unable to attend in person may ask questions by telephone. To attend in person or participate by phone, media must send an email with their name, affiliation and telephone number to Dwayne Brown at [email protected] by noon Feb. 22.

Media and the public also may ask questions during the briefing on Twitter using the hashtag #askNASA.

The briefing participants are:

· 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

A Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) about exoplanets will be held following the briefing at 3 p.m. with scientists available to answer questions in English and Spanish.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and updated scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For more information on exoplanets, visit: http://exoplanets.nasa.gov

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-news-conference-on-discovery-beyond-our-solar-system