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Google AI NASA Space

NASA, Google Spot Eighth Planet in Solar System Rivaling Ours (cnet.com) 69

Posted by msmash from the AI-for-good dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Google isn't just good for finding cat videos on the internet. The search giant's machine learning technology is also helping search the universe for planets outside our solar system. NASA on Thursday revealed the discovery of blazing-hot exoplanet Kepler-90i thanks to the use of a Google neural network trained to identify planets from the NASA Kepler space telescope's data. It's the eighth planet discovered in the Kepler-90 system, which ties it with our own solar system for the most known planets around a single star. Kepler-90 is a sun-like star located around 2,545 light-years from us.
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NASA, Google Spot Eighth Planet in Solar System Rivaling Ours More

NASA, Google Spot Eighth Planet in Solar System Rivaling Ours

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  • In Solar System?! Oh no... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sanosuke001 ( 640243 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @04:16PM (#55741683)

    So, the title makes it sound they found more plants rivaling our planet in our solar system. At least say "NASA, Google Spot Eighth Exoplanet in a Solar System Rivaling Our Own"

  • Danger! Danger! Slashdot headline failure detected!

  • SHUT THE FUCK UP

  • Would someone tell me how this happened? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Digital Mage ( 124845 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @04:47PM (#55741965)

    We were the fucking vanguard of the galaxy. The Solar System was the place to be. Then some other system comes out with 8 planets. Were we scared? Hell, no. Because we hit back with a little thing called Pluto. That was a honey of a planet with a sweet ass name. But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happened—the bastards downgraded it to a dwarf planet. Now we're standing around with our cocks in our hands, selling 8 planets and a gimp. Gimp or not, suddenly we're the chumps. Well, fuck it. We're going to 12 planets...and a moisture strip.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by swb ( 14022 )

      Please tell me you made that up, it's the funniest thing I've read in a while.

      I'm especially going to use the "But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happened" in all the stories I tell.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Our solar system has the best planets, believe me! Those Google planets are all fake planets, fake...planets! They were "discovered" by loser "scientists" who work for CNN. I know more about astronomy than Wheelchair Hawkings, believe me! I put the "me" in "astronome". It's not astronohillary, is it! Noooo. I gave Saturn's rings to Melania as a wedding gift. Loved 'em! Crooked Hillary got Uranus. So sad.

      And illegal aliens demoted Pluto trying to rig the electoral college counts. I mean Earth aliens, not go

  • Why, NASA? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by OneHundredAndTen ( 1523865 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:23PM (#55742235)
    I wish NASA changed their approach to these things. This is a nice finding all right, but it hardly warrants a TV release, much less the mystery associated with "next Thursday we are going to make an announcement". A simple press release, without any drama, would have been more than enough. By proceeding the way the are, NASA are stirring up false expectations in the public. When the announcement is made, the public may be forgiven for thinking "And this is the big announcement?". NASA has been crying wolf for years. They will be able to cry wolf not so many more times, before the general public becomes apathetic and indifferent to NASA's announcements. And, when that happens, NASA's annual budget will go down. Please, NASA, stop it.
    • Mod up... and fuck off, NASA; this was a waste of our interest levels and a solid embarrassment to yourselves.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )

      A simple press release, without any drama, would have been more than enough. By proceeding the way the are, NASA are stirring up false expectations in the public.

      If you don't want the public to be aware that NASA is doing anything at all, sure. It's a bit sad that they have to resort to such a clickbait tactic, but at least by creating a bit of fuss and mystery the press feels compelled to run the main story because of all those who'll click to get the answer. Otherwise it's just another yawner from NASA who only a few space nerds will click on that might not even be worth running. People are already apathetic and indifferent, unless it's alien life or a warp drive

    • If only NASA could go back to Muslim outreach like in the Obama years.

      New frontiers of sensitivity, blaming America first, solving made up problems, without giving any single country any advantage in the process.

  • There is only one "Solar System" (Score:5, Informative)

    by MikeDataLink ( 536925 ) on Thursday December 14, 2017 @05:38PM (#55742359) Homepage Journal

    There are many "star systems". Our is called the Solar System because our sun's name is Sol.

  • 8 planets full of cat videos, oh my!

  • Computational Astronomy, the confluence of past/current astronomical data with machine learning will truly transform what we think of as astronomy. With telescopes like LSST coming online in the next few years things are about to get really interesting.

  • Our own solar system would not look like it to aliens from another star using a Kepler-like detection system. Because the orbits of the planets in our system have different inclinations, even if they could detect one of our planets the chances are small that they could detect another. In fact they would never be able to detect more than 3 of our planets using that method (Mercury+Earth+Mars or Mercury+Venus+Saturn). About 95% of the time when they could see one planet transit they wouldn't be able to see

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