NASA Expected to Reveal a 'Major' Discovery Beyond the Solar System in a Press Conference

While no one can tell for sure what lies beyond the Solar System or if there is life oustide Earth, NASA and other space-focused endeavors are working tirelessly to further understand the universe. NASA is about to reveal another "major" discovery that will be announced at a press conference soon.

NASA teases about the discovery in a press release that announced a press conference that will take place at 1 p.m. EST on Feb. 22. The conference will discuss the new "major" findings on planets that orbit stars other than the center of the Solar System, also known as exoplanets.

The press conference will air live on NASA TV and NASA's official website. The anticipation grew since the details about the findings on exoplanets were embargoed.

NASA wanted to involve the media, the scientific community and even the public. Media practitioners are encouraged to witness the conference at the studio in Washington, although seating is limited.

The public can join the conference by posting their question on Twitter and by using the hashtag #askNASA, according to the agency's most recent press release.

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The conference will be participated by NASA officials such as Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, and Sean Carey, manager of NASA's Spitzer Science Center at Caltech/IPAC, Pasadena, California. They will be joined by scientists from various institutions including professor Sara Seager of the planetary science and physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, astronomers Michael Gillon from the University of Liege in Belgium and Nikole Lewis from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

CNET confirmed that the finding would involve some new information about the nearest star system to Earth, Proxima Centauri. Last year, the potentially habitable planet called Proxima B was spotted in Alpha Centauri.

Proxima B orbits its own star. The said exoplanet is believed to have its own atmosphere and other attributes that make it a great candidate to potentially hold life.