Watery Exoplanets

Using data from NASA's Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, researchers at the University of Montreal found evidence that two exoplanets orbiting a star 218 light-years away are "water worlds," where water makes up a large fraction of the entire planet. These planets are unlike planets in our solar system -- they were previously believed to be rocky Earth-like planets but instead are really water worlds. Listen to Franck Marchis in conversation with lead researcher Caroline Piaulet to learn about these new findings. Press release: https://exoplanetes.umontreal.ca/en/universite-de-montreal-astronomers-find-that-two-exoplanets-may-be-mostly-water/ This episode was recorded live on 19 January 2023. If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution whose focus is understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. Donate here: https://seti.org/donate Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science:  Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute/ Watch our streams over on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/setiinstitute Listen to our other podcast, Big Picture Science http://www.bigpicturescience.org/ Subscribe to our newsletter https://seti.org/signup Buy merchandise from Chop Shop https://www.chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI SETI Live is a weekly production of the SETI Institute and is recorded live on stream with viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Twitch. Guests include astronomers, planetary scientists, cosmologists, and more, working on current scientific research. Founded in 1984, the SETI Institute is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary research and education organization whose mission is to lead humanity's quest to understand the origins and prevalence of life and intelligence in the Universe and to share that knowledge with the world.