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exocast

exocast

The exoplanet podcast

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  • 100 episodes
  • Updated April 29

Episodes100

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  • Oct 27, 2021 · 53 min

    Exocast-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 – to fill out the 8 remaining wildcard slots. The line up of planets has been decided, but which will fight each other for the win? Well that is down to Hugh’s random selector which sets out Groups A – H for the round 1 battles. The team discuss what they think will happen (listen to previous shows you will know we always get it wrong) and select their winner for better or worse. You can find all about this years ExoCup2021 on the webpage where you will find all the ExoCup2021 fact sheets and the competition bracket. ExoCup2021 runs from November 1st – 24th 2021 on twitter via @exocastexocup member, if you enjoy the show and want to help support us, you can donate just a few dollars at buymeacoffee.com/exocast . You can also support the show and get yourself some exocast merchandise at the same time from exocast.threadless.com

  • Oct 8, 2021 · 48 min

    Exocast-54c – Exoplanet News

    The 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.

  • Aug 5, 2021 · 40 min

    Exocast-53 c – Exoplanet News

    In 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.

  • Jul 29, 2021 · 53 min

    Exocast-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 a job they have not advertised and the amazing array of JAXA missions she now gets to talk about. In our Adopt a Planet section Elizabeth welcomes GJ 832 c to the Exocast Adopted Planets list and fills us in on the personal and professional reasons for her choice! Listen to the show for more details. You can find links to all of Elizabeths videos, books, and research at elizabethtasker.com you can also follow her on Twitter @girlandKat (with a K).

  • Jun 28, 2021 · 38 min

    Exocast-52c: Exoplanet Paper News & Reviews

    In Exocast-52c Hugh, Andrew, and Hannah take us through three reviews of papers that have been recently published in the planetary/exoplanet literature.

  • Jun 21, 2021 · 50 min

    Exocast-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 terrestrial planets outside our own solar system… For more discussion of Venus you can check out our interview with Stephen Kane in Exocast-42b, and Exocast-48c where Andrew covers the detection of Phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere. And 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 Buy us a Coffee, or get your own merchandise at exocast.threadless.com

  • May 4, 2021 · 52 min

    Exocast-51b: Interview with Mark Marley

    In 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.

  • Apr 18, 2021 · 43 min

    Exocast-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 Elsie Lee who loaded us up with some coffee money to support the show, and a massive thank you to Anton who donated a whopping $100! If you also enjoy the show and want to help support us, you can donate just a few dollars at buymeacoffee.com/exocast You can also support the show and get yourself some exocast merchandise at the same time from exocast.threadless.com

  • Apr 5, 2021 · 48 min

    Exocast-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. “Blue skies” research asks the big broad question that are seemingly unimportant; why is the sky blue? but are fundamental to life here on Earth and our curiosity about our origin and universe. This month we are giving a big shoutout to Steve Hungsberg and Graham Lee who loaded us up with some coffee money to support the show, and a massive thank you to Anton who donated a whopping $100! If you also enjoy the show and want to help support us, you can donate just a few dollars at buymeacoffee.com/exocast You can also support the show and get yourself some exocast merchandise at the same time from exocast.threadless.com

  • Mar 8, 2021 · 44 min

    Exocast-49c: Monthly Exoplanet News

    For 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.

  • Mar 5, 2021 · 42 min

    Exocast-49b: Interview with Diana Powell

    The 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.

  • Jan 29, 2021 · 41 min

    Exocast-48c: Monthly Exoplanet News

    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 Buy us a Coffee, or get your own merchandise at exocast.threadless.com

  • Jan 25, 2021 · 40 min

    Exocast-48b: What is the point of the Habitable Zone!?

    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.

  • Dec 13, 2020 · 41 min

    Exocast-47c: #ExoCup2020 the Summary

    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 support the Exocast team then pop over to our Buy Me a Coffee page. For just $10 you can also put your favorite exoplanet in for a potential wildcard slot in #ExoCup2021!

  • Jul 20, 2020 · 44 min

    Exocast-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 folklore and the way we perceive our universe gives a new spin to the way we can view and measure exoplanets and our universe. We chat about how to best communicate what astronomy is to others and how to make the right connections. We also take the opportunity to talk to Moiya about what it is like to be a black woman in the astronomy community. The value of familiarity and shared experience in any field is important and we need to be more aware of ourselves and others to make this field more inclusive. See, think, act. You can find more by Moiya McTier on YouTube, Twitter @GoAstroMo, and follow Exolore a podcast on world building. Concrete Steps for Recruiting, Supporting, and Advancing Underrepresented Minoritized Scientists UK Actions and resources for #BlackLivesMatter

  • Jul 9, 2020 · 36 min

    Exocast-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 stars Wendelstein-1b and 2b A habitable-zone planet in Kepler-160? The finally published discovery of AU Mic b Discovery 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 an array of metals in its atmosphere. Hubble WFC3 IR grism spectroscopy of the warm Neptune HD 106315c Another search for TiO in the atmosphere of WASP-33b. Hubble PanCET program has a new transmission spectrum out of HAT-P-32b TESS phasecurve observations of the brown dwarf KELT-1b The most likely clouds muting and obscuring molecular features in transmission spectra are composed of magnesium silicates. 3D GCM models to map the formation of hydrocarbon haze in the atmosphere of WASP-43b Astrobiology: Mineral dust increases the habitability of terrestrial planets but confounds biomarker detection The Effect Of Varying Atmospheric Pressure Upon Habitability And Biosignatures Of Earth-like Planets Reports from the Goldschmidt conference and… The strangely precise conclusion that there are 36 intelligent civilisations in out galaxy.

  • Jun 12, 2020 · 47 min

    Exocast-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 this topic, are some of the fundamental questions and motivations that have always made us, as humans, look up at the night-sky and wonder if any of those stars had, in their orbit, a planet like our own. So, listen along as the team makes an attempt at tackling this tricky question with a bit of statistics, a bit of astronomy, a little philosophy, and even a well-developed fishing metaphor (a first for the show).

  • Jun 2, 2020 · 45 min

    Exocast-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 worlds, and how the properties of different ices can shape another world. Adopted Planet: TRAPPIST-1g – possible one of the best “ocean worlds” with high pressure ices. Future observations of this world might help us understand more about icy exoplanets. It joins its sibling TRAPPIST-1h in our adopted exoplanet family. ExoCup2019 Français: Baptiste also translated our ExoCup2019 cards into French. So, for all our French speaking listeners you can find the translated cards here.