Shows
exocastExocast-82b: Exoplanet Emission and the paradigm shift of JWST with Dr Megan Weiner Mansfield
For this episode the Exocast team are joined by Dr Megan Weiner Mansfield from the University of Maryland, USA. Megan’s work focuses on the measurement of exoplanet atmospheres with a particular look at the eclipse as the planet passes behind the star and we can measure the thermal dayside of tidally locked giants. We talk about the paradigm shift that JWST has brought to the field and some really cool techniques that can be used to dive into the atmospheres of these alien worlds more.
In addition, as always we ask our guest to adopt an ex...
2026-04-2941 minexocastExocast-81b: A chat with Dr Matt Kenworthy about weird dips in light curves and the future of instrumentation
For this episode the Exocast team are joined by Dr Matthew Kenworthy from the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. Matt’s work focuses on strange transit events and the search for new ways to better process data. Matt started his career in the instrumentation lab and we dive into that transition to more remote hands-off research. We talk about his work with the assassin, sorry ASASSN, network and the search for weird dips, and then what the future of instrumentation holds for our search for planets in the universe.
In addition, as always we ask our guest to...
2026-03-2543 minexocastExocast-80 b: Are giant planets friends or foes? With Dr Jonti Horner
We sat around our virtual studio to chat with Queensland-based astronomer Jonti Horner, who works on planetary dynamics – both within our own solar system, and around others. As well as discovering the impact of giant planet dynamics on habitable planets like earth, we also discussed the importance of aboriginal astronomy in Australia, his various media appearances, and Jonti’s namesake asteroid. Finally, Jonti adopts a special planet into our hall-of-fame list. Listen to find out more!
Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on bluesky...
2026-02-2445 minexocastExocast-79b: Observing odd exoplanet orbits with Dr. Malena Rice
Join the Exocast team as they chat with Dr Malena Rice an expert on planetary and exoplanetary dynamics through both theory and observation. Malena tells us about her journey into professional astronomy. Malena grew up and attended college in California before moving to the east coast for grad school in the Yale Department of Astronomy, only taking a quick one years’ break as 51 Peg fellow at MIT before returning to Yale as an Assistant Professor in 2023. We ask what the first year as a faculty member is like and how she approaches her research and outreach.
2025-03-0238 minexocastExocast-77b
For this episode the Exocast team are joined by Dr Benjamin (Ben) Pope from the University of Queensland, Brisbane. Ben has worked on everything from transit light curve modelling, to direct imaging instrumentation, to using tree rings to study solar activity and we try desperately to cover it all in the episode. Ben shares with us what excites him the most about the search for exoplanets and how instrumentation developments drive or understanding of these worlds and more importantly (to some) their stars.
In addition, as always we ask our guest to adopt an exoplanet into our...
2025-01-1640 minexocastExocast-76b: Exoplanet Interiors with Professor Caroline Dorn
The Exocast team are joined on this episode by exoplanetary interior investigator Professor Caroline Dorn. Caroline started her career in Earth sciences and geophysics, studying for her PhD aquifer systems at the University of Lausanne, before switching her focus to the interiors of more distant worlds in 2013 with postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Bern and Zurich. As of April 2023, Caroline is an Assistant Professor for exoplanet science at ETH Zürich, and her newly established interdisciplinary exoplanet research group at the Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics is also part of the Center of Origin and Prevalence of L...
2024-11-0841 minexocastExocast-75b: Radial Velocity Surveys of Young Planets with Dr. Louise Nielsen
The Exocast team are joined on this episode by Dr. Louise Nielsen, a Danish astronomer who, after a batchelor’s degree at Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, moved to the Geneva Observatory for a PhD focussing on radial velocity (RV) observations of exoplanets. Louise then completed postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching, before joining the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich as a staff astronomer in 2023. Louise discusses RV of young planets, follow-up of candidates found by TESS, the future of RV surveys, and she also outlines her early work with gro...
2024-10-2140 minexocastExocast-74b: Exoplanet Characterisation and HST/JWST Mission Support with Dr. Néstor Espinoza
The Exocast team are joined on this show by Dr. Néstor Espinoza from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, USA. Néstor is an Assistant Astronomer and Mission Scientist for Hubble and JWST at STScI, where he focusses on transiting exoplanets and their stars. He also provides support for HST and JWST as Mission Scientist for Exoplanet Science in the Instrument Division, and Néstor speaks to the Exocast gang about balancing these distinct roles, as well as his interest in developing open-source modelling and analysis tools for exoplanet science. As always, Néstor also adds an e...
2024-09-0546 minexocastExocast-73b: Using Adaptive Optics to Find Exoplanets with Jules Fowler
The Exocast team are joined on this show by Jules Fowler, a NSF Graduate Research Fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where they work to improve extreme adaptive optics technologies and seek the signatures of exoplanets in polarized light. Jules also shares insights gleaned from four years working as an analyst and science software engineer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), where they had the pleasure of collaborating with Exocast’s own Hannah Wakeford to discover transiting exoplanets. As always, listen to the show to find out which ‘planet’ (hint) Jules has adopted into our hall-of-fame this t...
2024-08-0541 minexocastExocast-72b: Directly Imaging Exoplanetary Motion with Dr Jason Wang
The Exocast team return from a short hiatus to be joined on this show by Dr Jason Wang from Northwestern University in Illinois. Jason is a direct imager, and gives us a quick overview of how we are able to find and characterise planets through direct imaging, as well as discussing the Gemini Planet Imager, 51 Eridani b, KPIC, VLT’s Gravity, and the making of the well-known, jaw-dropping animation of the planetary system around HR 8799. Listen to the show to find out which planet Jason has adopted into our hall-of-fame as Exocast’s ‘Adopt-a-planet’ returns.
Do you have a q...
2024-07-0840 minexocastExocast-71c: exoplanet news and the 100th episode
In this most excellent 100th episode of Exocast from the team we bring you the latest in exoplanet research and news.
Hannah and Andrew cover news from the TRAPPIST system. Hannah will dive into the JWST results that have come out about this very famous system of seven Earth-sized rocky planets. Two papers look to the mid-infrared to measure the light directly from the planets b and c in emission – finding that they likely do not have an atmosphere possibly stripped by their stars radiation. The first spectroscopic measurements of TRAPPIST show that the star itself is go...
2023-12-0632 minexocastExocast-71b: Do All Planets Orbit Stars?
In this episode, Hannah, Hugh, and Andrew ask the question: Do all planets orbit stars?
Even though the vast majority of planets found so far are bound to a star, there have been detections of planetary-mass objects floating alone through space. Are these planets? How do these objects form, and how can we detect them? Is it possible that these free-floating objects could be considered ‘habitable’? The exocast gang tackle these tricky topics and other nomenclature-related debate surrounding this seemingly simple but deceptively complex question.
Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the d...
2023-11-1336 minexocastExocast-70c: Exoplanet news
Hugh, Hannah, & Andrew discuss a handful of interesting recent exoplanet papers from the past few months. We chat about the news coverage of K2-18b and the claims of biomarkers in that atmosphere, new discoveries, exciting atmospheres, and haze formation.
Hannah dives into the controversy of K2-18b and the announcement of DMS (a biomarker on Earth) detection amongst a methane dominated spectrum “Carbon-bearing Molecules in a Possible Hycean Atmosphere” by Madhusudhan et al.. The team discuss the responsibility we have as scientists to portray the statistics (in this case the lack of evidence to supp...
2023-10-1541 minexocastExocast-70b: Dr. Max Günther discusses transit detection, chemistry in zero-g & ESA CHEOPSThis month the exocast team chat to exoplanetary astronomer Dr Maximillian Guenther. We talk about finding transiting exoplanets with TESS & NGTS, bright flares from M-dwarf stars, open-source transit modelling, chemical mixing experiments in zero-g aboard the vomit comet, connections between science and art, and his role as project scientist of the ESA CHEOPS mission. And, of course, hear which important and personally connected planetary system he adopted into our hall-of-fame.
2023-10-0248 minexocastExocast-69b: Surviving Scientific Conferences
In this episode Andrew, Hannah, and Hugh discuss the art and science of organising, and attending, scientific conferences, with a particular focus on the recent Exoclimes VI meeting held in Exeter, UK, organised by Hannah and others in the exoplanet community. These meetings are crucial for the dissemination and communication of new results among the community and further afield, but they can be daunting to attend, and very stressful to organise. The team share their personal experiences with conference attendence and organising and consider the changing role and format of the science conference in modern academia.
Do...
2023-08-1646 minexocastExocast-68c: Latest Exoplanet News
Hugh, Hannah, & Andrew discuss a handful of interesting recent exoplanet papers from the past few months. We chat all things Exoclimes VI held in Exeter in June 2023, new discoveries, exciting atmospheres, and haze formation.
Hugh highlights a new discovery of “A temperate Earth-sized planet [LP 791-18 d] with tidal heating transiting an M6 star” by Peterson et al.
Hannah dives into an escaping atmosphere covering “Giant Tidal Tails of Helium Escaping the Hot Jupiter HAT-P-32 b” by Zhang et al.
And finally, Andrew explores “Exoplanet Volatile Carbon Content as a Natural Pathway for Haze Forma...
2023-07-2635 minexocastExocast-68b: Interview with Nikole LewisThe Exocast team are back and this time joined by the esteemed Nikole Lewis, Professor and Deputy director of the Carl Sagan institute at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, USA. We chat all things career, JWST, the future of exoplanet characterisation with the Roman Space Telescope and Nikole add her favourite Neptune mass exoplanet GJ 436b to the Exocast Adopted Planets archive.
2023-06-2738 minexocastExocast-67 c: Latest exoplanetary news
Hugh, Hannah, & Andrew discuss a handful of interesting recent exoplanet papers from the past few months.
Andrew delves into technosignatures and a study which looked at whether nearby extraterrestrial civilisations could detect our current levels of radio leakage, and exactly what they might be able to learn.
Hannah condenses the most recent JWST exoplanet paper, on the nearby transiting super-Earth GJ486b. The beautiful spectra from JWST appear to show hints of water vapour, but is it in the planetary atmosphere or the activity on the surface of the star?
And finally, Hugh...
2023-06-0229 minexocastExocast-67b: Catching up with the Exocast team
In this episode Andrew, Hannah, and Hugh reflect on where their careers and research in exoplanet science have led over the past few years as a chance to (re)introduce ourselves to new and regular listeners alike! We hope you’ll appreciate a slightly different format for this show.
Do you have a question we didn’t ask? Join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on Twitter. You can also get your hands on Exocast merchandise at exocast.threadless.com
Exocast is edited by musician/composer Fergus Hall (https://www.fergushallmusic.com) a...
2023-05-1654 minexocastExocast-66c: Exoplanet News
In this episode the team cover some of the latest exoplanet news stories. This month Hugh covers the first JWST’s transmission spectrum of a small planet, validating and characterising the exoplanet LHS 475b. Hannah discusses some preliminary work from JWST, including phase curves from WASP-121b and WASP-43b, that reveal the capabilities and quirks of the instruments onboard. Andrew breaks the rules by discussing three papers, 2 of which are closely connected, on the general topic of the potential for serpentinization as a possible source of energy for microbial metabolisms around hydrothermal vent systems.
Hugh’s paper: A JW...
2023-03-2129 minexocastExocast-66b: Interview with Georgina Dransfield
Back on the airwaves after a short hiatus, the Exocast team are delighted to be joined by Georgina (George) Dransfield, a PhD student at the University of Birmingham in the UK, who works on finding new exoplanets using the transit method. George uses data from ground-based surveys like SPECULOOS and space-based surveys like TESS and is also is somewhat unique in observing from Antarctica, specifically using and helping to run the ASTEP pipeline. Of course, George also adds a new planet to our adopted exoplanet family. You’ll have to listen to the show to find out which one she...
2023-03-0342 minexocastExocast-65 b: Launching #ExoCup2022It's everyone's favourite time of year. No, not because of halloween, leaf-peeping or mulled wine - because it's #ExoCup season! Yes, for the sixth time, Hannah, Hugh & Andrew will use the power to twitter polls to let the public decide which single exoplanet deserves to wear the crown as the people's champion for 2022. In this special episode, we reveal the planets chosen for the 2022 edition - including 24 from the exoplanet literature, and 8 "wild cards" chosen by our hosts. We then draw the groups and make our predictions for who will go the distance, and who will make a quiet first-round...
2022-10-3138 minexocastExocast-64c: Exoplanet NewsIn this episode the team cover some of the latest exoplanet news stories. This month Hannah summarises the most recent exoplanetary science coming out of JWST’s early release science programs; Andrew tells us a bit about the habitability of Enceladus’s subsurface ocean, and Hugh talks about a new observation of compositional differences for planets around M-dwarfs.
2022-10-1932 minexocastExocast-64b: Interview with Dr Naomi Rowe-Gurney
This month Hannah, Andrew, and Hugh are joined in the virtual Exocast studio by planetary scientist Dr Naomi Rowe-Gurney. Naomi is a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Howard University in the USA where she works on all things Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) in particular looking at them with JWST. The perfectly timed episode follows on from newly released images of Neptune taken with JWST that Naomi had been working on and we discuss the future of Ice Giant science with JWST and a mission to Uranus. After a health giggle session over an ex...
2022-10-1143 minexocastExocast-63 c: Exoplanet news
We cover this month’s most exciting exoplanetary (and solar system) news:
Andrew tells us about details of the proposed “Venus Life Finder” mission which would go beyond ESA & NASA’s selected Venus missions to directly sample for organic molecules in the temperate regions of Venus’ atmosphere using an interplanetary balloon!Hugh talks about how analysis of the multi-planet systems found by Kepler is still revealing new insights, in this case how chains of planets appear to have a defined outer edge.Hannah talks about the open-source atmospheric modelling software PICASO 3.0, and argues for the benefits of astronomers making the...
2022-09-2349 minexocastExocast-63b: How do planets form?
Hugh, Hannah & Andrew turn their attention to a simple question with a very complicated answer: our favourite!
This month we are pondering how planets form. What do we know about planet formation from the Earth, observations from our Solar System, and of distant exoplanetary systems? Where are the gaps in our understanding of the processes involved? Do the theories and models of planet formation hold up to observational scrutiny? We might not be able to answer all (or any) of these questions definitively, and arguably we ended the discussion with more questions than when we started, but...
2022-09-0850 minexocastexocast 62c
The latest news hot off the Exocast news desk for July/August 2022, another exciting month for exoplanet science:
Andrew takes some time to discuss the life and influence of Dr James Lovelock, the co-originator the Gaia Hypothesis, who died recently. His news this month takes the form of two independent but neatly connected papers on the topic of ‘chirality’: ‘The Chiral Puzzle of Life’ by Globus and Blandford, and ‘Directional Aspects of Vegetation Linear and Circular Polarization Biosignatures‘ by Patty et al. Hannah summarises ‘Chemical Abundances for 25 JWST Exoplanet Host Stars with KeckSpec’ by Polanski et al. in anticipation of t...
2022-08-2638 minexocastExocast-62 b: Interview with Dr. Knicole ColónThis month Hannah, Andrew & Hugh are joined by NASA Goddard's space telescope expert, Dr. Knicole Colón. Fresh from her NASA TV appearance unveiling JWST's first exoplanet spectrum to the world, the JWST deputy project scientist for exoplanet science gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the big day, as well as how the team got JWST ready for science. She also discusses the ongoing TESS mission searching for new planets, as well as the Pandora small-sat designed to look at exoplanet atmospheres on a budget, both of which Knicole is also managing. And we hear about her origins as a s...
2022-08-1148 minexocastExocast-61c: Exoplanet News
The latest news hot off the Exocast news desk for June/July 2022, a very exciting month for exoplanet science:
Hannah gives us a run-down of some of the long-awaited first images from JWST, including a spectrum from the atmosphere of WASP-96b from the NIRISS instrument showing clear water features. The team try (and fail) to contain their giddiness at the prospect of entering a new era of exoplanet astrophysics.Andrew takes to the theory literature to hightlight a paper by Mol Lous et al. in this months’ Nature Astronomy that explores ‘Potential long-term habitable conditions on planets with...
2022-07-2053 minexocastExocast-61 b: Observation vs Theory, which is more important?
Hugh, Hannah & Andrew pick sides to debate astronomy’s deepest divide. Are you with Hugh on the side of the observers, who insist that it is only with new telescopes, instruments and data that we can reveal physical properties of exoplanets and develop our understanding of the universe. Or are you, like Andrew, on the side of the theorists, who ensure that we can deeply understand the physical properties of exoplanets by doing experiments and simulations, and observations are simply a tool to test theories? Or do you prefer to take Hannah’s path, and jump chaotically between the two...
2022-07-1348 minexocastExocast-60c: News (June 2022)
The latest exoplanet news hot off the Exocast news desk:
Hannah gives us a run-down of the Exoplanets IV conference held recently in Las Vegas, at which both her and Hugh were in attendence, including summaries of interesting sessions and presentations.Hugh presents a great new paper from Panahi et al. 2022 entitled “The Detection of Transiting Exoplanets by Gaia” that demonstates the Gaia spacecraft’s ability to contribute to exoplanet detection.Andrew keeps things in the up in the air when discussing “Can Carbon Fractionation Provide Evidence for Aerial Biospheres in the Atmospheres of Temperate Sub-Neptunes?“ by Glidden et al. 202...
2022-06-2141 minexocastExocast-60b: Interview with Dr Jennifer Burt
In this episode of Exocast the team are fortunate to be joined in the virtual studio by Dr Jennifer Burt, NASA/JPL’s Extreme Precision Radial Velocity Investigation Scientist, for an extreme discussion of the radial velocity technique for finding and characterising exoplanets. Jenn gives us a comprehensive and enthusiastic rundown of the method, US and European RV surveys, supporting current and future photometric missions with RV follow-up, and an update on new technology and instruments that are pushing the limits of radial velocities for exoplanet detection to extremely high precision, including automated planet-finding telescopes.
Of course, Je...
2022-06-0747 minexocastExocast-59c: Exoplanet News
Join us for this months news episode where the Exocast team delve into new discoveries, characterisation, and astrobiology investigations to learn all about the latest research being published in exoplanets.
Andrew takes us through some new astrobiology work “Metabolically diverse primordial microbial communities in Earth’s oldest seafloor-hydrothermal jasper“ from Papineau et al. 2022
Hannah covers the latest in characterisation with “A New Analysis of 8 Spitzer Phase Curves and Hot Jupiter Population Trends: Qatar-1b, Qatar-2b, WASP-52b, WASP-34b, and WASP-140b” from May et al. 2022
Hugh looks into some new discoveries from “TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing...
2022-05-2437 minexocastExocast-59b: What are planetary atmospheres made of?
This month Hugh, Hannah, and Andrew go back to basics to discuss the diversity and complexity inherent in the study of planetary atmospheres. Exocast-59b touches on how we define an atmosphere and takes a sojourn through the varied and beautiful atmospheres of the Solar System, as well as a journey back through time to consider the long evolution of the atmosphere of our planet. How does an atmosphere form and change over time, cling to objects ranging in size from the Moon to Jupiter and beyond, and can it be lost forever to space? Extending beyond the Solar...
2022-05-0651 minexocastExocast-58c: Exoplanet NewsIn this months News episode Hugh, Hannah, and Andrew each discuss a paper from the past month of the latest exoplanet research including, JWST test data analysis, Oxidative Earth, and multi-star systems.
2022-04-2241 minexocastExocast-58b: Interview with Dr Megan SchwambIn this episode the Exocast team talk with Dr Megan (Meg) Schwamb about her work from the solar system to distant exoplanets and citizen science. The show is jam packed with exciting science and enough ice cream analogies to build an Exocast Parlour. We discuss in detail the process of going from a strange looking light curve posted in PlanetHunters Kepler to publication and bonafide planet, how you can track ice formation at Mars' poles, and take a look to the farthest reaches of our solar system to ask what is out there and what does that mean for our...
2022-04-1250 minexocastExocast-57b: Exoplanet newsIn this episode the Exocast team take us through three of the latests studies in exoplanet research touching on biosignatures, planet formation and disruption, and the effects of space weather on close-in exoplanets. Join them to learn the latest in exoplanet science!
2022-03-1548 minexocastExocast-57b: How big can an exoplanet be?This month Hugh, Hannah and Andrew discuss a deceptively simple question about the limits of planetary size... Exocast-57b takes you from measurements of exoplanet radius and mass, the difficulty with the IAU definition of planets, to the formation of brown dwarfs and stars. They even dive into the importance of size on habitability, the size limits of a rocky world compared to a gaseous world, some of the stand out candidates for the "biggest" exoplanet, and whether a planet can ever be bigger than a star (spoiler: yes, but never in mass).
2022-03-0345 minexocastExocast-56b: Interview with Mark McCaughrean about JWST
In this episode the Exocast gang chat with Dr Mark McCaughrean, who is a Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Science Working Group Interdisciplinary Scientist, about the recent launch, deployment and commissioning of JWST. Mark shares scientific and personal highlights of his long involvement with the telescope, his experience of JWST’s launch from French Guiana on Christmas Day 2021, and insights regarding the revolutionary exoplanet science that the platform will enable. We also take some time to discuss ESA’s other exoplanet-centric missions (GAIA, ARIEL, PLAT...
2022-02-031h 10exocastExocast-55b: ExoCup2021
That’s right it is that time of year again where the Exocast team pit planet against planet in the Twitter poll show-down: ExoCup!
In this episode Andrew, Hugh, and Hannah look at the rundown of exoplanets that were mentioned the most in the past year of research publications and the top 23 join last years ExoCup2020 winner WD-1856b to fill out the first 24 exoplanets in Pots 1, 2, and 3. They then take a look at what is missing – what worlds did not get represented, what methods should we highlight, and what the we want to see in the Cup...
2021-10-2753 minexocastExocast-54cThe exocast team covers the latest news in Exoplanets including a critical look at the so called "Hycean" worlds recently proposed to be the best places to look for life, a detailed run-down of the Elements magazine issue on "Geoscience beyond the solar system", and some new and refined exoplanet measurements and discoveries.
2021-10-0848 minexocastExocast-54bIn this episode the exocast team discuss how we observe exoplanets from the ground, how is it different from space, where do we put the telescopes and why.
2021-09-2956 minexocastExocast-53 cIn Exocast-52c Hannah, Andrew and Hugh review the exoplanetary field over the last month, including a fix for Hubble's ageing computer, a host of habitability updates from the Goldschmidt conference, a new transiting planet around a naked-eye star, and results from testing exoplanet hazes in the lab.
2021-08-0540 minexocastExocast-53b: Interview with Elizabeth Tasker
In this episode the Exocast crew are excited to talk with expert science communicator, JAXA space scientist, and master of computer simulations, Professor Elizabeth Tasker. During the hour long discussion we talk about how Elizabeth transitioned into planetary research from a degree and PhD in galactic simulations, the journey from the UK to the US, Canada and now in Japan. Where the idea for her popular science book The Planet Factory came from and why we should all have contact forms on our websites. Elizabeth also shares some thoughts on teaching, how to convince someone to hire you for...
2021-07-2953 minexocastExocast-52cIn Exocast-52c Hugh, Andrew, and Hannah take us through three reviews of papers that have been recently published in the planetary/exoplanet literature.
2021-06-2838 minexocastExocast-52b: Why is Venus important for exoplanets?
In this episode the Exocast team discuss Earth’s twin planet, Venus, and its link to exoplanetary science.
We start with an overview of the past, present and future of Venusian exploration, from the first Soviet probes to the three newly-selected missions (DAVINCI+, VERITAS and EnVision) which will explore the atmosphere and surface of Venus more thoroughly than ever before. Then we turn to the open questions about Venus – its potential ancient habitability, the lack of plate tectonics, and of course its recently-detected potential biosignatures – all of which link to questions we will soon be asking of terres...
2021-06-2150 minexocastexocast-51bIn this episode the Exocast gang are joined by veteran exoplaneteer Dr Mark Marley from NASA Ames. During a nearly hour-long discussion, we probe Mark's experience of early exoplanet discovery and characterisation efforts in the 1990s, his work on clouds and atmospheric circulation models, 'ice' giants, brown dwarfs, his leadership role with the LUVOIR space telescope concept, as well as his cheerleading efforts during the Exocup.
2021-05-0452 minexocastExocast-50c: Monthly Exoplanet News
In this month’s news rundown Hugh, Hannah, and Andrew provide a summary of three interesting papers that appeared on their radar during February/March 2021:
Hugh takes a look at The Chemical link between stars and their rocky planets by Vardan Adibekyan and others.Andrew summarises Lithologic Controls on Silicate Weathering Regimes of Temperate Planets by Kaustubh Hakim and team.Hannah dons a thermal raincoat to cover Water on hot rocky exoplanets by Edwin Kite and Laura Schaefer.
We would also like to give another big thanks to Steve Hungsberg and Els...
2021-04-1843 minexocastExocast-50b: Why do we study exoplanets?
In this months discussion Hugh, Hannah, and Andrew discuss the question: Why do we study exoplanets?
The team take a look at their own personal motivation and how they each came study exoplanets, as well as diving into the technological applications of astronomy, and the philosophy behind the big questions in astronomy. Astronomy has been at the root of huge technological advances, from the X-ray machines at the airport, to the development of computer languages, better infrared detectors and advanced observations. Ultimately, should all of the things we do have an economic benefit? We don’t think so...
2021-04-0548 minexocastExocast-49c: Monthly Exoplanet NewsFor the second exocast news for 2021 Hannah talks about the physics of raindrops in planetary atmospheres, Hugh explores the color possibilities of the Kepler Photometric data, and Andrew discusses the role of chance in the habitability of the Earth as an exoplanet.
2021-03-0844 minexocastExocast-49bThe exocast team interview cloud and dust expert Diana Powell (UC:Santa Cruz) about her work on protoplanetary disks and clouds in exoplanet atmospheres. The team also welcome Diana's exoplanet of choice, CI Tau b to their adopted planets.
2021-03-0542 minexocastExocast-48c
For the first news segment of 2021 Hugh, Hannah, and Andrew talk through three papers from exoplanet science:
Hugh covers the Direct confirmation of the radial-velocity planet β Pictoris c
Hannah discusses 3D simulations of photochemical haze in the atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD189733b
And Andrew takes us through the science and drama of Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus
Remember you can join in the discussion in the comments below, and find us on Twitter. If you want to support the Exocast Podcast then you can B...
2021-01-2941 minexocastExocast-48b
In this months episode Exocasters Hugh Osborn, Hannah Wakeford, and Andrew Rushby attempt to answer the question they posed last year: What is the point of the Habitable Zone?
The term Habitable Zone is often thrown around by scientists, the media, and in the general public. But what does the term really mean and how do we use it. Join us in what is at points a heated discussion on all the aspects of the science and language involved in this hot cool just right topic.
2021-01-2540 min
exocastExocast-47c: summary of ExoCup2020
The #ExoCup2020 was full of wonderful and baffling surprises. The Exocast team take a look at what went on, which planets triumphed or failed, and what you did to bring this competition to life.
This year’s competition was a true reflection of 2020. We had election fatigue bloom into campaign videos. Exoplanets making their own twitter accounts to ask for your vote. YouTubers, live streamers, and parody accounts asking you to vote for a specific planet. But most importantly we had some amazing exoplanet science shared with everyone.
If you enjoy our content and want to...
2020-12-1341 min2020-10-2624 minexocastExocast-46b: Interview with Moiya McTier
This month Hugh, Andrew, and Hannah talk to astrophysicist, folklorist, and science communicator Moiya McTier. Moiya is an NSF graduate researcher at Columbia University in New York City and works to understand exoplanets from a galactic perspective.
The Exocast team talks to Moiya about work from measuring the topography on an exoplanet by the effect that mountains and other features have in transit, all the way up to how the stars in the Milky Way are moving and the effects those might have on their planets. The blended approach Moiya takes to science with a look too...
2020-07-2044 minexocastExocast-46 d: Exoplanet News from May & June 2020
This month Hannah, Hugh, and Andrew go through the slew of exoplanet papers from discoveries, characterisation, and astrobiology including the following:
Discoveries:
Buzzword alert! A mini-Neptune and Venus-zone planet in the radius valley orbiting an M2 star has been validated with the Habitable-zone planet finder.Four jovian sized worlds discovered around the low luminosity starsWendelstein-1b and 2bA habitable-zone planet in Kepler-160?The finally published discovery of AU Mic bDiscovery of Gliese 887b & c
Characterisation:
Ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b got two papers this month. One looking for Cr and V, and the other cataloging...
2020-07-0936 minexocastExocast-45c: how many exoplanets are there?
In this episode, the team sits down to ponder the question how many exoplanets are there?
At first, this might seem like a relatively straightforward question that can be answered by NASA’s Exoplanet Archive, but it becomes more daunting when considering, for example, the biases and limitations of our instruments that affect our ability to even detect and characterise many planets, how we define a ‘planet’, and whether or not we have surveyed enough stars to consider our sample of planet-hosting stars to be representative of the wider stellar population.
But, at the core of thi...
2020-06-1247 minexocastExocast-45b: Special Guest Dr Baptiste Journaux
This month Andrew, Hannah, and Hugh chat with Dr Batiste Journaux (Research Associate in the Department of Earth and Space Science at the University of Washington) about all things icy and the role of different ices in our Solar System and exoplanets. Baptiste is a multidisciplinary scientist whose research spans the lab, fieldwork, and modelling and software development, we talk about how these all fit together to explore alien worlds in our solar system and beyond.
In this episode we learn how you form “hot ice”, the best way to measure ices in the interior of other worl...
2020-06-0245 minexocastExocast-45d – Exoplanet News: new discoveries, characterisations, and formation research
On Exocast-45d we bring you the news from across exoplanet research this month with new discoveries, characterisations, habitability and formation papers.
In America, WFIRST has been renamed the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in honour to the pioneering “Mother Hubble”, while in Europe the LIFE mission kicked off.We have lots of new exoplanets being discovered (from TESS, NGTS, WASP and RVs), and un-discovered, as was the case for Fomalhaut b.Characterisation studies have also been busy this month with three papers released looking at data on the hot Jupiter WASP-76b, an unusual transmission spectrum for KELT...
2020-05-2635 minexocastExocast-44c: Can we ever image the surface of an exoplanet?
On this episode we ask the question: Can we ever image the surface of an exoplanet?
Once we get all the definitions out of the way, like ‘what do we mean by map?’ and ‘what do we mean by surface?’, we take a deep dive into the realm of instrumentation to discuss the possibilities and limitations of our upcoming and near-future exoplanet imaging technologies.
We touch on some of the avenues that astronomers & engineers already thought about to do this, consider if it’s technologically feasible that we might be able to return images of the surfac...
2020-05-0747 minexocastExocast-44 d – April 2020’s exoplanet news
In this round-up of the month’s notable exoplanetary exploits, we cover all the headlines including: Proxima c (not) being directly imaged with Sphere – WASP-4b’s accelerating orbit – two new but very different sub-Saturn-mass planets – windspeed measurements on Brown Dwarfs – plus the influence of Gin & Vampires on exoplanets (from a couple of results very early this month).
Also this month, check out our chat with Dr Sarah Casewell; and a discussion of imaging the surfaces of exoplanets.
2020-05-0133 minexocastExocast-44b: Special Guest Dr Sarah Casewell
This month Hannah, Hugh, and Andrew chat with Dr Sarah Casewell about her work on irradiated brown dwarfs. Sarah is an Earnest Rutherford Fellow at the University of Leicester where she has spent her career since undergrad. We chat all things brown dwarfs and what makes the irradiated ones so special to study.
Sarah also shares her journey in academia from PhD, to postdoc, manager, and now fellow, all while becoming a mum (twice). We also manage to grab some pearls of wisdom about what is working in academia, what is not, and how to take it...
2020-04-2255 minexocastExocast-43 d: Exoplanet news
In the final of three mini-exocasts we will release this month, we cover some of the notable happenings in exoplanet science over the past month.
On this episode we cover new planets from the TESS mission, a novel technique for detecting exoplanets using radio emission, and the end of the very productive KELT survey after 17 years. We also revisit K2-18b, which hit the exoplanet headlines last year after water vapour was definitively detected in its atmosphere, consider iron-based clouds, discuss the possible habitability of Mercury, and get Hannah to spill the beans on her latest...
2020-03-3038 minexocastExocast-43c: Can we ever travel to an exoplanet?
On this episode we ask the question: Can we EVER travel to an exoplanet?
This has two interpretations. First who is we, and second what does ever mean? To think about this question we discuss the sheer vastness of space and the distances to our nearest planets, the speeds we would need to achieve to get there, and the technology we can use. What limitations do we have, what resources can we use, and what has science fiction and the human imagination dreamt up for such an endeavour.
Join us on this fascinating journey and...
2020-03-2338 minexocastExocast-43b: Special Guest Natalia Guerrero
This month Hugh, Hannah, and Andrew chat with Natalia Guerrero, who works in the office of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which is run out of MIT’s Kavli Institute. Natalia is the manager of the TESS objects of interest (TOI) catalogue, part of the communications office, and was one of the engineers who did the camera testing prior to launch.
We talk about how TESS looks for planets, what are the biggest challenges, how she came into the project, and excitements to come. Natalia also talks about her role in TESS communications, and designing a sc...
2020-03-1640 minexocastExocast-42b: Special Guest Dr Stephen Kane
Our final bite-size episode for this month features Andrew, Hannah, and Hugh chatting with Dr Stephen Kane, Associate Professor of Planetary Astrophysics in the Departments of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Riverside.
Stephen tells us a little about his need to use all exoplanet detection techniques, his love for our hot and cloudy next-door neighbour Venus, and he tries to sneak two planets into our adopted exoplanet list, before settling on one special world.
2020-02-2145 minexocastExocast-42c – Water in the Universe
In the second of three mini-casts this month, Hannah, Hugh, and Andrew gather around the virtual table to discuss that weird and wonderful molecule: H2O!The importance of water to our lives is undeniable, but in this show we chat about what makes water so chemically unusual and important in the study of astrophysics, exoplanet astronomy, and astrobiology.
2020-02-1231 minexocastExocast-42 d – Exoplanet news
In the first of three mini-casts this month, we discuss all the recent exoplanet news from December 2019 & January 2020.
That includes a temperate world around TOI-700d; Proxima Centauri c; three new planetary systems losing their atmospheres found with RVs; Circumbinary planets in Kepler and TESS; Iron in WASP-121b; Two different phase curves from TESS; and the atmosphere of Beta Pic b in glorious detail.
2020-02-0537 minexocastExocast-41b: Erin May from observing to theoretical GCMs, Strange stars, #ExoCup2019 and the News
0:03:12 – Hannah chats with Dr Erin May a postdoctoral researcher at JHU’s Applied Physics Lab about her transition from extragalactic research into exoplanets, running an observing campaign as a grad student, and how to apply global circulation models to small exoplanets.0:23:54 – Hugh discusses strange transits and the weirdest phenomenon observed with transiting exoplanet surveys from possible quadruple star systems, to orbiting debris, and definitely not aliens.0:52:12 – Andrew is on the news desk reading ADS so you don’t have to with news of new planets from TESS and HARPS, characterization studies from Gaia, some habitable zone theory, and the upcoming CHEOPS lau...
2019-12-141h 21exocastExocast-40b: Brett Morris talks starspots & astrobiology, the #ExoCup2019 is underway, plus exoplanet news
Hugh chats with his colleague at the University of Bern Dr. Brett Morris about starspots and their effect on exoplanet detection and characterisation, his experience with an astrobiology mission right here on Earth, and he recounts an exciting day in Bern earlier this year. Andrew discusses the labels we apply to the worlds we find, and the gang debates the usefulness of the terms for exoplanet science.And Hannah reads ADS so you don’t have to with news of new planets from TESS and HARPS, characterization studies from PanCET, and even a theory paper or two (including one from a...
2019-11-191h 17exocastExocast-39b: Paul Robertson talks RVs, the #ExoCup2019 live draw, plus the 2019 Nobel Prize
On the 39th episode of exocast:
Andrew chats with UC Irvine’s radial velocity expert (and occasional planet-killer) Dr Paul Robertson in the Exocast Studio.Hannah outlines how the 2019 ExoCup is going to play out, and Hugh performs the draw for the first round “live” on air.And Hugh reports from the Exocast news desk on arXiv’s wackiest exoplanet papers from the past month, plus we chat about Mayor & Queloz winning the 2019 Nobel prize for physics.Finally, our special guest Paul gives a personal plea to include Kepler-22b as an exocast Adopted planet.
2019-10-181h 06exocastExocast-38b: Exoclimes V voxbox, NASA’s Flagship mission concepts, and exoplanet news
On this podcast:
Hannah takes us to the Exoclimes V conference in Oxford to ask people what they most want to learn about outside of their area of study.Hugh details the four competing missions up for the NASA decadal: Lynx, Origins, HabEx, and LUVOIRAnd Andrew takes us through the most recent exoplanet news, including a discussion on the press sensation surrounding the discovery of water in the atmosphere of K2-18b – a mini-Neptune orbiting in its stars habitable zone.
2019-09-131h 00exocastExocast-37b: Live at TESScon, an intro to planetary protection, & the month in exoplanet news
Quizmaster Hugh takes to the conference hall at the 1st TESS Science Conference (TESSCon) to test the attendees’ exoplanet knowledge! Andrew compiles a (not very) top secret report-out on planetary protection.And Hannah covers this month’s news including the detection of an exoplanet magnetic field, new planets from TESS, a Kepler-load of 350 new candidates, as well as advances in exoplanet population statistics and atmospheric characterization.
2019-08-121h 03exocastExocast-36b: Live at AbSciCon, plus Spectroscopy 101, and the Exoplanet News
On the 36th episode of exocast:
Andrew roves the conference hall at the Astrobiology Science Conference.Hannah goes through the ABCs of spectroscopy,And Hugh covers this month’s news including new solar system missions Dragonfly & Comet Interceptor, new occurrence rates, plus the new exoplanets (such as PDS-70b, Teegarten’s star b & c) which took the Exoplanet Archive over 4000 alien worlds.
2019-07-081h 04exocastExocast-35b: Special guest Tom Haworth, plus Exoplanet Direct Imaging
On the 35th episode of exocast we welcome special guest Dr Thomas Haworth into the virtual Exocast Studio.
Hannah talks with special guest Dr Thomas Haworth about planet formation in extreme environments and the role the stars play in shaping their planets.Hugh covers the ins and outs of how exoplanets can be detected using Direct ImagingAndrew reports from the Exocast news desk on this months exoplanet papersAnd special guest elects PDS-70b into the Exocast Adopted planets family.
Correction: Where Hugh states “Epsilon Eridani b” was found by GPI/Sphere, he means “51 Eridani b”.
2019-05-281h 11exocastExocast-34b: with special guest Raphaëlle Haywood, plus Isotope Geochronometers
On the 34th episode of Exocast:
Hugh is joined by Dr.Raphaëlle Haywood, Sagan Fellow at Harvard College Observatory, and expert in disentangling the signal of planets and their host stars in radial velocity surveys;Andrew explores the depths of time, taking a virtual trip back to the formation of the planet and solar system using radioactive isotope abundances;Hannah takes a look at some hot-off-the-press exoplanet discoveries from April 2019;And Raphaëlle adopts the super hot, super interesting, Super Earth COROT-7b into the Exocast Adopted Planets family.
2019-05-071h 07exocastExocast-33b: with special guest Jessie Dotson, plus Ice Giants
On the 33rd episode of Exocast:
Andrew is joined by NASA Ames’ Dr. Jessie Dotson – K2 project scientist, former head of Kepler’s Guest Observer office, and planetary defence specialist;Hannah tours our solar system’s Ice Giants and looks for comparisons in the world of exoplanets;Hugh takes a look at some hot-off-the-press exoplanet discoveries from March 2019;And Jessie adopts the newly-confirmed Kepler-1658b into the Exocast Adopted planets, which 9 years ago was the first Kepler planet candidate (as KOI-4).
2019-04-031h 07exocastExocast-32b: featuring special guest Dr Jo Barstow, plus detecting the solar system from TRAPPIST-1
On the 32nd episode of Exocast:
Hannah is joined by Dr Joanna Barstow, UCL’s exoplanetary atmosphere expert, recent astro-mum, and huge fan of “JWST: The Musical”*.Hugh transfers the podcast to TRAPPIST-1 and asks the question: “How many of the Solar System’s planets would we detect?”Andrew covers the enormous hit that was Kepler-107c’s density, new TESS planets, the NASA Archive’s 4000th exoplanet, plus dearly departed NASA missions.And Joanna adopts Venusian analogue GJ 1132b into the Exocast Adopted planets family.
*This is neither true nor, in fact, exists. Yet.
2019-02-2657 minexocastExocast-31b: with special guest Lee Billings, plus Waterworlds and exoplanet news
On the 31th episode of Exocast:
Hugh is joined in the virtual exocast studio by Science Journalist Lee Billings a writer for Scientific American and author of “5 billion years of Solitude”. Andrew dives into waterworlds inside and outside of our solar system and what we can learn about habitability. Hannah takes a look at what exoplanet news had been released over the past months and highlights the great work done by furloughed US scientists who keep the Hubble Space Telescope alive and healthy.And Lee, adopts the newly discovered Barnard’s Star b into the Exocast Adopted Planets family...
2019-01-251h 00exocastExocast-30b: with special guest Jessie Christiansen, plus ExoCup2018 analysis
On the 30th episode of Exocast:
Andrew is joined in the virtual exocast studio by Dr Jessie Christiansen from Caltech/NExSci to talk a little about her work on exoplanet demographics, catalogs, public outreach, and citizen science.Hannah provides an overview of last month’s #exocup, giving us a run down on the stats, the winners, losers, surprises and lessons learned.Hugh takes a look at what other exoplanet news had been released over the past month.And Jessie, to the chagrin of some and the appreciation of others, chose ‘the Next Planet’ as her adopted world – find out why...
2018-12-1356 minexocastExocast-29b: with special guest Sarah Hörst, Exomoons, News, and Exocup2018On the 29th episode of Exocast:
Hannah is joined by Professor Sarah Hörst from Johns Hopkins University to talk about her lab and working on haze production for solar system planets and beyond.
Hugh discusses the concept of Exomoons following the recent potential discovery.
Andrew takes a look at the exoplanet news for the past month, and introduces the new format for the Exocup2018!
And Sarah adds the not extra-solar, not planet, Titan to the exocast adopted exoplanet family.
Also, did we mention the EXOCUP is back!
2018-10-281h 07exocastExocast-28b: Special guest Daniel Angerhausen, SOFIA, technosignatures, news, HD 209458bOn the 28th episode of Exocast, returning from a month’s break:
Hugh is joined by Daniel Angerhausen from the University of Bern/Blue Marble Space to talk exoplanet science with SOFIA and high-altitude balloon experiments.
Andrew introduces the concept of technosignatures in time for the first NASA Technosignatures Workshop, held at the end of September, and chats a little more with Daniel who will be taking part in the meeting.
Hannah takes a look at the exoplanet news for the past two months, and there’s a lot to discuss!
And Daniel adds the ‘standard candle’ Hot Jupiter HD...
2018-10-051h 09exocastExocast-27b: special guest Michael Gully-Santiago, K2, Exoplanet meetings, news, HAT-P-11bIn the 27th episode of Exocast:
Michael Gully-Santiago joins Andrew for a chat about his work on instrumentation, and with the K2 guest observer office (https://keplerscience.arc.nasa.gov/).
Hannah reports back from the Exoplanets II meeting in Cambridge (https://www.exoplanetscience2.org/), where she takes to the conference floor to speak to the attendees about some of their favourite exoplanet facts.
Hugh covers all the exoplanet news and views from the last month;
And Gully adds HAT-P-11b to our Adopted Planets
2018-08-021h 02exocastExocast-26b with Natasha Batalha, PandExo, RVs, and HAT-P-26bIn the 26th episode of Exocast:
Natasha Batalha joins Hannah for a chat about PandExo (the Exoplanet ETC for HST and JWST) and her work on Martian climate modelling.
Hugh discusses all things radial velocity: history, current, and future prospects.
Andrew covers all of June’s exoplanet news;
And Natasha adds “Hannah’s special planet” HAT-P-26b to our gang of Adopted Planets
2018-07-021h 06exocastExocast-25b: Exoplanetary Helium (with guest Jess Spake), plus the “Shadow Biosphere”In the 25th episode of Exocast:
Jessica Spake joins us to chat about the first detection of exoplanetary Helium – around the planet Wasp-107b
Andrew covers whether alien biology could exist in a Shadow Biosphere here on Earth.
Hannah covers all of May’s exoplanet news;
And Jess invites an old friend to the exocast adopted planets – 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet detected around a sun-like star.
2018-05-2857 minexocastExocast-24b: Special guest Rus Belikov, direct imaging, Alpha Can, Titan, news, Ross-128bIn the 24th episode of Exocast:
Andrew chats with special guest Rus Belikov about direct imaging and Alpha Cen ;
Hannah dives into the lakes of Titan to take us on a scuba diving adventure through alien worlds;
And Hugh takes us through the latest in Exoplanet news;
Finally, as always, we adopt a planet into our exocast family. This week selected by our guest Rus who chose Ross-128b, welcome to the family.
2018-04-301h 08exocastExocast-23b: special guest Jayne Birkby, UKExoM, Gaia, news, WTS-2bIn the 23rd episode of Exocast:
Hannah and Hugh join us from the UK Exoplanet Meeting;
Hannah chats with special guest Dr Jayne Birkby about her work on high resolution spectroscopy;
Hugh talks about the Gaia mission and what it means for exoplanets;
Andrew covers all of this months exciting exoplanet news;
And we invite our guest to add to the exocast adopted planets, so welcome WTS-2b to the exocast family.
2018-04-0151 minexocastExocast-22b: panspermia, exoplanet phases, news, Kepler-167eIn the 22nd episode of Exocast:
Andrew talks about the concept of panspermia;
Hugh discusses how astronomers can observe the changing phases of exoplanets;
And Hannah covers the exoplanetary news including discoveries from K2 and new open-source science for exoplanet spectroscopy.
And Hugh adds the cold transiting jupiter Kepler-167 e as the newest adopted Exocast planet.
2018-02-2847 minexocastExocast-21b: planet formation, habitability of eccentric planets, news, Kepler-21bIn the 21st episode of Exocast:
Hannah talks about planet formation;
Andrew discusses the potential habitability of planets on eccentric orbits;
Hugh disseminates a backlog of exciting exoplanet news from the past two months including discoveries, planet characterization, and community debate;
Andrew adds the eponymous Kepler-21b as the newest member of the Exocast adopted planets gang;
2018-01-3059 minexocastExocast-20b: The ExoCupIn the 20th episode of Exocast we discuss all things #ExoCup
What is the ExoCup? How was it conceived? What was the result? Why was it so stressful for the Exocast crew?
We take a voxbox from some members of the exoplanet community on their opinions of the ExoCup (inc. Dr. Jessie Christiansen, Dr. Nikole Lewis, Dr. Natalie Batalha, Dr. Abhi Rajan);
Andrew reports on the months interesting exoplanetary news that was still churning out planets during the cup;
Hannah adopts runner up GJ 1214b into the Exocast family to join winner Kepler-10b.
Big thank you...
2017-12-091h 00exocastExocast-19b: origins of life part 2, software and machine learning, news, Proxima bIn the 19th episode of Exocast:
Andrew continues his 2-parter on research into the origins of life;
Hugh details all the numerous way that computers & software is used in astronomy, from Microsoft to MCMC to Machine Learning;
Hannah reports on two whole months worth of interesting exoplanetary news;
Hugh adopts Proxima Centauri b, the solar system’s closest cousin, into the Exocast family;
And we announce the start of the first Exocast #ExoCup!
2017-10-3056 minexocastExocast-18b – Direct Imaging Special with special guest Sasha HinkleyIn the 18th episode of Exocast, we chat to Sasha Hinkley, a direct imaging expert at the University of Exeter:
“Spotlights & fireflies” – what it means to be able to directly image planets and how we do it.
Why direct imaging may not have the numbers compared to other detection techniques, but can give us so much more information on each planet
The future of direct imaging instruments, including JWST, WFIRST and the E-ELT.
And Sasha adopts the HR 8799 system as an Exocast adopted planet.
2017-10-0730 minexocastExocast-17b: origins of life part 1, global circulation models, news, GJ 667CcIn the 17th episode of Exocast:
Andrew introduces us to the origins of life studies in the first of a two-part segment.
Hannah talks about Global Circulation Models (GCMs) and why they matter for exoplanets.
Hugh reports on the latest exciting exoplanetary news, including alien stratospheres, new exoplanets from RV studies, and exo-comets.
Andrew adopts GJ 667Cc into the misfits that are the Exocast adopted planets.
2017-09-1657 minexocastExocast-16b: ELTs, JWST, news, 51 Eri b, newly minted Dr OsbornIn the 16th episode of Exocast:
Hugh discusses exoplanet science in the era of extremely large telescopes.
Hannah brings us up to speed with the outcomes of the recent James Webb Space Telescope workshop held at the Space Telescope Institute at the beginning of July.
Andrew reports on the latest exciting exoplanetary news, including a potential exomoon candidate, some worrying disclosures from the TESS mission, and a possible atmosphere detection around a large terrestrial planet.
Hannah adopts the directly-imaged world 51 Eridani b into our exoplanet orphanage, a young, hot, Jupiter-like planet detected by the Gemini Planet Imager.
Hugh bec...
2017-08-0854 minexocastExocast-15b: biosignatures, TESS, news, Kepler-37bIn the 15th episode of Exocast:
Andrew revisits the signals life may or may not leave in a planet’s atmosphere, taking in recent results from the NExSS biosignature workshop.
Hugh details the pros & cons of NASA’s upcoming planet-hunting machine, the Transiting Exoplanet Satellite Survey, or TESS, mission.
Hannah covers the breaking news, including a host of new results from the Kepler mission.
and
Hugh adopts the mini-Mercury Kepler-37b into our collection, the smallest planet yet found around a main sequence star.
2017-07-0641 minexocastExocast-14bIn the 14th episode of Exocast
Hannah takes us back to basics and introduce the composition and chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres.
Andrew covers some recent updates from astrobiology, the field of study that aims to figure out if there’s life on any the exoplanets we’ve discovered, or on some of the worlds closer to home.
Hugh takes us through the latest in exoplanetary news, including the newest discoveries, investigations, and notable events in exoplanets this month.
and
Andrew adopts the well characterized exoplanet HD 189733b – a hellish world with high speed winds filled with molten...
2017-06-1243 minexocastExocast-13bIn the 13th episode of Exocast
Hugh talks about planets in binary systems – are two stars better than one?
Hannah discussed the importance of brown dwarfs as the intermediary between planets and stars.
Andrew takes us through the latest in exoplanetary news, including the newest discoveries, investigations, and notable events in exoplanets this month.
and
Hannah adopts WASP-12b with it’s ruby clouds into our extreme family of exoplanets.
2017-04-2855 minexocastExocast-12bIn the twelfth episode, Exocast-12b:
Andrew details highlights of the recent UK exoplanet meeting.
Hugh and Andrew play “Just an Arcminute” with UK exoplanet scientists.
Hannah sits in at the exocast newsdesk to cover news including new data on the Trappist-1 system, unusual clouds closer to home, and new brown dwarfs at the boundary of planets & stars.
And Hugh chooses Kepler-47ABc, a rare circum-binary planet, as our adopted planet of the month.
2017-04-0848 minexocastExocast-11bIn the eleventh episode, Exocast-11b:
Hannah covers all the incredible news about the Trappist-1 system, talking us through the discovery of seven new earth-sized worlds around this nearby ultra-cool dwarf.
Andrew talks about the philosophy of exoplanets, from the ancients, through the dark ages, and into the modern era.
And Hugh sits in at the exocast newsdesk to cover the release of 60,000 HIRES RVs, new transit-hunting surveys MASCARA and BRing, the star HAT-P-2 beating to the rhythm of its planet, and more controversy over how to define a planet.
And Andrew choose the elusive TRAPPIST-1 h, the coldes...
2017-03-0349 min