July 31, 2017 9:16 pm

Tuesday, Revisit “Exploring Exoplanets, with Seth Shostak”

As we continue our StarTalk All-Stars hiatus, this week we bring back one of my favorite episodes from Season 1: Exploring Exoplanets, with Seth Shostak.

Seth, Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute, is joined by co-host Chuck Nice and Jason Wright, Associate Professor of Astronomy at Penn State University and a member at the Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds. Together, our trio takes a trip across the universe to look at the exoplanets which the science community is excited about – specifically, Proxima b, the exoplanet that’s close to Earth (“close” meaning roughly 4 light years away).

As for an update on Proxima b, the team that was responsible for discovering Proxima b is now on the hunt to find more discoveries nearby. You can find out more here.

In this episode, you’ll hear about what makes Proxima b so special, different ways to travel through deep space, how planets are categorized as “Super Earths”, alien megastructures, what percentage of planets in the Milky Way might have liquid water, and the SETI protocol to be followed if we were ever to receive an alien transmission. Throw in a great round of fan-submitted Cosmic Queries chosen by Chuck Nice, and you can see why I like this episode so much: a little space, a little science, a little comedy, and a whole lot of interaction with our fans.

In fact, if you’re a fan of that StarTalk’s specific formula, then don’t miss the next chance for you to see StarTalk Live! On September 18, our upcoming StarTalk Live! show at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn will be the last chance for you to be a part of something special. This will be the last StarTalk Live! coming from the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival as the EMCF ends after its tenth year. StarTalk Live! began at the EMCF so I know that the final show will be one to remember, and you can be there! Tickets are available here.

For now, though, please join us tomorrow night for Exploring Exoplanets, with Seth Shostak (Repeat) at 7pm EDT right here on our website, as well as on our StarTalk All-Stars channels on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and TuneIn. And if you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen