In this episode, we hear about Kiersten and Will’s epic adventures in both hemispheres! Both Kiersten and Will watched the eclipse that passed through North America on April 8, 2024 and are still buzzing with excitement. Kiersten tells us about a recent paper that explores why planets might act so indecisive about sitting between being a super-Earth or mini-Neptune. Will’s astrobite describes a similarly chaotic exoplanetary tale about a very slow moving planet which “came in like a wrecking ball” and “never hit habitability so hard” (everything in quotations must be sung in Miley Cyrus’ singing voice). All in all, we all share a laugh and an emotionally charged episode!

Kiersten’s astrobite: https://astrobites.org/2024/03/28/template-post-22/

Will’s astrobite: https://astrobites.org/2024/03/06/exoplanet-hr-5183-b/

Eclipse XKCD: https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2914:_Eclipse_Coolness

Eclipse Astronomy Photo of the Day: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240409.html

Sonification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8al9FRz-VKY

Sonification description: https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/listen-eclipse

Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8