Here is a quick statement from them:

“Exoplanets, especially small Earth-size worlds, belonged within the realm of science fiction just 21 years ago,” according to the NASA statement. “Today, and thousands of discoveries later, astronomers are on the cusp of finding something people have dreamed about for thousands of years — another Earth.”

There’s not much more to say except there hasn’t been this amount of anticipation for an announcement like this in a long time!

In the meantime check out the video below here is a quick intro:

New discoveries streaming back from the Spitzer Space Telescope continue to surprise and amaze everyone. No one could have predicted some of the amazing things we’re finding, not even the mission scientists themselves! Spitzer has proved itself to be a true pioneer in the characterization of extrasolar planets, providing the first real, if crude, weather map of a world around another star over 250 light years away. We’re also finding evidence of planet formation in the oddest places, from the cool, dark space around brown dwarfs to the hard-radiation baked environment near neutron stars. Come watch sunrise and sunset around a massive Jupiter-like planet, or trace high-velocity winds on an alien world where we’ve found water vapor in the cloud-tops. With Spitzer, these new worlds are becoming real places to us, challenging us to imagine even more.

Check back for updates!

thanks to ctv news for the great info

thanks to space.com for the great info

thanks to NASA for the pic