Episodes

  • Epsilon Indi Ab: A Twin of Jupiter

    Epsilon Indi Ab: A Twin of Jupiter
    Sep 17 2024
    An international team of astronomers has directly imaged this exoplanet, one of the coldest ever seen. The team observed Epsilon Indi Ab using the coronagraph on Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument. Only a few tens of exoplanets have ever been directly imaged by space- and ground-based observatories. These observations are ushering in a completely new era in exoplanet research. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/exoplanets/epsilon-indi-Ab/.
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    5 mins
  • The Rogue Planets of JWST

    The Rogue Planets of JWST
    Sep 6 2024
    The Orion Nebula, M42, is the largest stellar nursery close to Earth. Within this massive complex some 1300 light years away, the James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled hundreds of Jupiter-sized rogue planets roaming freely here. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/discoveries/rogue-planets-jwst/.
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    5 mins
  • How Far Are the Closest Exoplanets with Life?

    How Far Are the Closest Exoplanets with Life?
    Oct 11 2023
    To increase our chances of finding life on other planets, a systematic approach needs to be adopted, one that applies reasonable assumptions that maximize our success. So, an important question becomes, where should we point our telescopes? Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/science/closest-exoplanets-with-life/.
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    5 mins
  • How Long Will Life on Earth Last?

    How Long Will Life on Earth Last?
    Oct 9 2023
    Nothing lasts forever, stars live and die over the course of hundreds of millions to billions, and in the case of red dwarf stars, trillions of years. Planets are born from the remnants of their parent stars and die over a shorter timescale. Life on those planets, if it exists, is presumed to be shorter still, governed entirely by the environments provided by the combination of the star and planetary characteristics. How long life lasts there ultimately depends on how long the star lives and how it dies. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/science/how-long-life-earth/.
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    5 mins
  • Exoplanet Temperatures from Secondary Eclipses

    Exoplanet Temperatures from Secondary Eclipses
    Oct 4 2023
    Over the course of this show, we’ve talked many many times about the Transit Method for detecting exoplanets. It is simply the measure of a star's decrease in brightness as the star passes through our line of sight. This once difficult measurement has now become commonplace and can even be done with advanced amateur astronomy equipment under a reasonably dark sky. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/science/exoplanet-secondary-eclipse/.
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    4 mins
  • TOI 1853 b: A Baffling Planet That Defies Explanation

    TOI 1853 b: A Baffling Planet That Defies Explanation
    Oct 3 2023
    Meet TOI-1853 b, one of the weirdest exoplanets ever discovered! It's about the size of Neptune, but four times more massive. It orbits its star so closely that it completes a full orbit in just 1.24 days. This makes it very hot, and it's located in a region of space known as the 'hot Neptune desert', where astronomers have been looking for Hot Neptunes but unable to find any. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/exoplanets/toi1853b-baffling-exoplanet/.
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    5 mins
  • Biosignatures: The Search for Life Beyond Earth

    Biosignatures: The Search for Life Beyond Earth
    Sep 20 2023
    In recent years, scientists have made great strides in the search for extraterrestrial life. They have discovered thousands of exoplanets. And some of them are located in the habitable zone of their star, which means that liquid water could exist on their surface and is essential for life as we know it. The search for life however, is a little more involved than finding planets, measuring their location and distance around the star and figuring out their location within a habitable zone. Astronomers need more information to learn if life may be there. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/science/biosignatures-search-for-life/.
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    5 mins
  • The First Hycean World? JWST's Discovery of K2-18 b

    The First Hycean World? JWST's Discovery of K2-18 b
    Sep 18 2023
    The James Webb Space Telescope has completed observations of an exoplanet that may contain an ocean-covered surface underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere. This discovery provides a fascinating glimpse into a planet unlike anything in our Solar System, and raises interesting prospects about potentially habitable worlds elsewhere in the Universe. Show Notes Available at https://exoplanetradio.com/discoveries/first-hycean-world-jwst-discovery-k218b/.
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    5 mins