Hunting planets you can't see, and the search for a second Earth
The ingenious methods astronomers use to detect worlds orbiting distant stars they cannot directly image, and what it would take to find a truly Earth-like planet.
Listen in the Fylom app.
Earth-sized planets block only zero point zero one percent of a Sun-like star's light during transits.
The TRAPPIST-one system contains seven rocky planets located forty light-years away in the Aquarius constellation.
Earth's gravitational pull causes the Sun to wobble at the speed of a crawling tortoise.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will launch in twenty twenty-seven to search for rogue planets.
Directly imaging a planet is like spotting a firefly hovering next to a coastal lighthouse.
Red dwarf stars can act like cosmic blowtorches that strip atmospheres from nearby Earth-sized planets.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Art of the Cosmic Shadow3 min
- 03The Stellar Tug-of-War3 min
- 04Bending Light and Direct Sight2 min
- 05The Search for a Second Earth2 min
- 06Outro1 min
- The search for Earthlike worlds | The Planetary Society
- Methods of detecting exoplanets - Wikipedia
- Seeking other Earths: Will this new telescope find them?
- How Scientists Detect Exoplanets: 5 Methods Explained | Cosmic Horizons
- How Far Can We See? The Limits of Planet Hunting | astrobites
- Can we actually see exoplanets? - ESO.org
- Exoplanet Detection Methods | Simulations4All
- NASA’s TESS Mission Finds Planetary System in New Way - NASA Science
- Space for Kids - Exoplanets hunting - ESA
- How Do We Find Exoplanets? Every Detection Method Explained | SpaceOdysseyHub
- Detecting exoplanets | Canadian Space Agency
- Exoplanet detection methods - ESA Science & Technology
- 10 Steps to Confirm a Planet Around Another Star - NASA Science
- What is Webb Revealing About the TRAPPIST-1 System? - NASA Science
- NASA Telescope Reveals Largest Batch of Earth-Size, Habitable-Zone Planets Around Single Star - NASA
- Refining the Transit-timing and Photometric Analysis of TRAPPIST-1: Masses, Radii, Densities, Dynamics, and Ephemerides - IOPscience
- Refining the Transit-timing and Photometric Analysis of TRAPPIST-1: Masses, Radii, Densities, Dynamics, and Ephemerides - IOPscience
- TRAPPIST-1: Global results of the Spitzer Exploration Science Program Red Worlds | Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)
- Refining the Transit-timing and Photometric Analysis of TRAPPIST-1: Masses, Radii, Densities, Dynamics, and Ephemerides - IOPscience
- Down in Front!: The Transit Photometry Method | The Planetary Society
- Transit Method - NASA Science
- Transit Method - Las Cumbres Observatory
- TRAPPIST-1 | NASA Exoplanet Archive
- NASA Webb Looks at Earth-Sized, Habitable-Zone Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 e - NASA Science
- First Thermal Mapping of Temperate Earth-sized Exoplanets
- TRAPPIST-1 and its compact system of temperate rocky planets
- JWST-TST DREAMS: NIRSpec/PRISM Transmission Spectroscopy of the Habitable Zone Planet TRAPPIST-1 e - IOPscience
- Thermal emission from the Earth-sized exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b using JWST | Nature
Fylom generates episodes like this on any topic you're curious about.
Fylom episodes are researched, written, and voiced by AI. Automated checks help catch inaccuracies, but episodes aren't reviewed by a human and AI can still get things wrong. Treat them as a starting point, not a source of record — more in our accuracy disclaimer.