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SETI LiveAuthor: SETI Institute
SETI Live is a weekly production of the SETI Institute and is recorded live on stream with viewers on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly known as 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. Language: en Genres: Astronomy, Natural Sciences, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Missing Link Found: A Breakthrough in Exoplanet Science
Episode 8
Tuesday, 3 March, 2026
Astronomers may have found the missing link in the story of the Milky Way's most common planets. In this SETI Live, host Moiya McTier is joined by exoplanet scientist John H. Livingston to explore a new discovery that helps connect the dots between small rocky worlds like Earth and the larger "sub-Neptunes" that dominate our galaxy. Using cutting-edge observations and statistical analysis, researchers have identified a population of planets that appears to bridge a long-standing gap in our understanding of planetary formation. For years, astronomers have known that planets of sizes between Earth and Neptune are incredibly common—but their origins and evolutionary paths have remained puzzling. This new result may finally clarify how these worlds form, evolve, and sometimes transform. What does this mean for: • How do planetary systems assemble? • Why does our Solar System look so unusual? • The search for habitable worlds beyond Earth? Join us as we break down the science, the methods, and the bigger implications for exoplanet research and the search for life. Press release: https://www.abc-nins.jp/en/2026/01/08/10010/ Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09840-z (Recorded live 26 February 2026.)
