NASA says its scientists have cracked a mystery on Mars, but space enthusiasts will have to wait until Monday for the big reveal.
The "major science finding," as NASA calls it, will be unveiled Monday at 11:30 a.m. ET, in a live online broadcast from the space agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
And while few details have been revealed, armchair astronomers in search of clues were quick to scrutinize NASA’s press release.
Scientists slated to speak at Monday’s news conference include Alfred McEwen, the principal investigator for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; Mary Beth Wilhelm, who has studied the possibility that Mars was once habitable; and Lujendra Ojha, whose work explores Martian rock formations that seem to be carved from water.
Combining those three ideas – photography, water and ancient alien life – the Twitterverse was shot into a dizzying orbit of speculation.
What do we think the #NASA announcement will be? Water? Bacterial life? Bones of something that used to live there? #MarsAnnouncement
— // andy.roo // (@mrnerdherder) September 26, 2015
NASA to announce that liquid water exists on the surface of Mars (hopefully) #sciencenerd #marsannouncement
— Matt Pegler (@MJPegler) September 27, 2015
Wondering what the #MarsAnnouncement tomorrow will be. Water? My guess is water. Or they found a set of pyramids up there.
— Stephanie Kilb (@TheStewLittle) September 27, 2015
I will be greatly disappointed if the #marsannouncement from #nasa is anything short of of #alienlife
— pewpewpeepeehaha (@HouseHaha) September 27, 2015
I hope @NASA releases information saying they found fossilized evidence of microbial life tomorrow! #PleaseBeAliens #MarsAnnouncement
— Dawn (@LadyFireSprite) September 27, 2015
excited to hear @NASA’s major Mars announcement on Mon. flowing water discovered on Mars? #mars #marsdiscovery #marsannouncement
— Scott Kendall (@dskendall) September 26, 2015
And more than a few theories seemed to test the limits of science.
.@NASA just saw a leaked photo for the press conference!!!! #marsannouncement pic.twitter.com/FtYtZr6bri
— Conor Dunne (@Dunne_Buggy17) September 27, 2015
Lifeform analyzing reveals that, actually, women are from Mars, not Venus. #MarsAnnouncement
— Pat C (@MonadoHeir) September 27, 2015
The NASA announcement comes the morning after the highly anticipated “supermoon” eclipse, which saw an orange-red harvest moon pass through the Earth’s shadow. It was the first instance of the rare celestial phenomenon since 1982, and it won't be seen again until 2033.