exocast

The exoplanet podcast

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100 episodes
Updated April 29

Episodes100

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May 26, 2020 · 35 min
Exocast-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-11b, and the He atmosphere of GJ3470b gets another look from more data. Formation has also been a hot topic and we look at a new paper from pioneers in the field looking to explain the formation of moons around giant planets like Jupiter. And in habitability we delve into a new Bayesian approach to the problem of timelines and probability for the Earth, plus a look at Venus’ habitable past.
May 7, 2020 · 47 min
Exocast-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 surface of another world, and try and understand the drivers behind why we want to do this in the first place.
May 1, 2020 · 33 min
Exocast-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.
Apr 22, 2020 · 55 min
Exocast-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 easy on yourself during a global pandemic. Adopted planet: KELT-1b a brown dwarf mascaraing as an exoplanet. At 27 times the mass of Jupiter it is solidly beyond the traditional planet mass boundary, but it also happens to be in orbit around a star only slightly larger than our sun.
Mar 30, 2020 · 38 min
Exocast-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 paper about the use of a mode on Hubble which has not been used before to measure the UV spectrum of exoplanet atmospheres. Also this month, check out our chat with Natalia Guerrero from the TESS office at MIT, and our discussion on the topic: ‘will we ever be able to travel to an exoplanet?‘
Mar 23, 2020 · 38 min
Exocast-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 let us know what you think by commenting on this post. Image credit: Kevin Gill – Laser sail
Mar 16, 2020 · 40 min
Exocast-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 science based concert and artwork for the TESS Science Conference last year. Adopted planet: Pi Mensae c – the 1st planet published from TESS and sibling to Pi Men b. Pi Men c is a 2 earth-radius planet on a 6 day orbit around a bright naked eye star in the Southern Hemisphere.
Feb 21, 2020 · 45 min
Exocast-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.
Feb 12, 2020 · 31 min
Exocast-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.
Feb 5, 2020 · 37 min
Exocast-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.
Dec 14, 2019 · 1 hr 21 min
Exocast-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 launch by ESA. 1:00:50 – We review the events of the #ExoCup2019 competition and congratulate the winner HR 8799b and the direct imaging trifecta. 1:18:10 – Finally, our special guest Erin adopts the small plucky TESS planet HD 21749c to the Exocast Adopted Planet family.
Nov 19, 2019 · 1 hr 17 min
Exocast-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 co-host). The #ExoCup2019 is heating up! Finally, our special guest Brett laments the short but exciting life of the strange rock WD 1145+017 b as we officially welcome it into the Exocast Adopted Planets family.
Oct 18, 2019 · 1 hr 6 min
Exocast-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.
Sep 13, 2019 · 1 hr
Exocast-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 LUVOIR And 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.
Aug 12, 2019 · 1 hr 3 min
Exocast-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.
Jul 8, 2019 · 1 hr 4 min
Exocast-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.
May 28, 2019 · 1 hr 11 min
Exocast-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 Imaging Andrew reports from the Exocast news desk on this months exoplanet papers And 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”.
May 7, 2019 · 1 hr 7 min
Exocast-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.
Apr 2, 2019 · 1 hr 7 min
Exocast-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).
Feb 26, 2019 · 57 min
Exocast-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.