Searching for Habitable Worlds with David Kipping

About This Episode

How do we uncover distant planets’ secrets? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice explore the recent discoveries in exoplanet study, exo-moons, and finding the stars from our sun’s stellar nursery with astronomer and head of Cool Worlds Lab, David Kipping.

Learn about “Cool Worlds”– planets that exist in the colder, outer regions of space. The discussion dives into the science of exoplanets, exo-rings, and the enigmatic exo-Trojans, revealing how these distant worlds differ from our own solar system. 

Taking insights from the James Webb Space Telescope, we explore Kepler-167e, a Jupiter twin, and its potential for exomoon discovery. We explore the birth of our solar system, the search for the Sun’s lost siblings, and the idea of rogue worlds– planets that wander the galaxy, untethered from any star. 

We expand to include rapidly spinning stars, the process of aging them through gyrochronology, and the groundbreaking discoveries of JWST, such as binary Jupiter-mass objects. Plus, we cover plans for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a next-generation telescope aimed at directly imaging the surface of exoplanets and potentially finding signs of life. 

Thanks to our Patrons Micheal Morey, Kristoff Vidalis, Adir Buskila, Yanir Stein, Randombot38, James Komiensky, Richard Clark, Daniel Helwig, Kayleigh Sell, and KENNY SMART for supporting us this week.

NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free.