The Habitable Zone

In this episode, we explore two discoveries reshaping our understanding of the universe. First, we discuss rocky exoplanets with helium-dominated atmospheres and how these unusual worlds could remain habitable while becoming ideal targets for future telescopes. Then, we examine the first confirmed discovery of newborn stars and complex organic molecules inside a supernova remnant, challenging long-held ideas about how stellar explosions influence the formation of future stars, planets, and the building blocks of life.Sources:Helium worlds: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.06857Supernova remnant: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6fba This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will discuss NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and a new theory suggesting that life may have originated in land-based environments rather than deep-sea hydrothermal vents.Sources:Roman Space Telescope: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/Wet-dry cycle: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15311074261434368 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will discuss how asteroid impacts may have helped early life evolve on Earth, and the discovery of a giant exoplanet with permanently cloudy mornings and clear evenings.Sources:Asteroid Impact Sites: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03206-7WASP-94A b: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adx5903 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will discuss the existence of Nucleobases in the universe, and a new planet with an ultra-short period.Sources:Nucleobases: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02824-7TOI-4552 B: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.18233 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will be covering new research suggesting Jupiter’s icy moons may have received the chemical building blocks for life during their formation, as well as a study searching for the first extragalactic exoplanets in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy stream using data from the TESS space telescope. We will also explore what these discoveries mean for the origins of life and the possibility of planets beyond the Milky Way.Sources:Jupiter's Moon:https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ae3559https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staf2074Hot Jupiters: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.15105 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will be covering new findings from asteroid Bennu samples returned by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission and how they suggest that the building blocks of life may have formed in cold regions of space long before Earth existed.Sources:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2512461122 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will be covering how the James Webb Space Telescope uncovered complex organic molecules inside a dust-hidden galaxy and what this discovery reveals about how chemistry forms in extreme cosmic environments.Sources:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02750-0 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]

In this episode, we will be covering the discovery of a new earth-sized exoplanet candidate and circumbinary systems. Sources:Exoplanet: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adf06fCircumbinary system:  https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ae21d8 This Episode was Filmed and Edited by Aidan Chan and Vriddhi Mittal. Contact us at [email protected]