In this episode the Exocast gang are privileged to be joined by veteran exoplaneteer Dr Mark Marley from NASA Ames. During a nearly hour-long discussion, we probe Mark’s experience of early exoplanet discovery and characterisation efforts in the 1990s, his work on clouds and atmospheric circulation models, ‘ice’ giants, brown dwarfs, his leadership role with the LUVOIR space telescope concept, as well as his cheerleading efforts during the Exocup.

We also welcome back our Adopt a Planet segment with our guest picking a returning favourite, 51 Eri b. Listen to the segment at the end of the show to hear Mark’s reasons for picking this fascinating planet. Will being adopted twice help 51 Eri b’s chances in the Exocup this year…?

Mark Markley is a Research Scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. who earned his PhD in Planetary Science from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at the University of Arizona in 1990. After a postdoc studying planetary atmospheres at NASA Ames he began a faculty position in Astronomy at New Mexico State University in 1993, before returning to Ames in 2000 as a civil servant scientist. Mark will return to the University of Arizona to take up leadership of the LPL and Department of Planetary Sciences in mid-May 2021. He tweets from @astromarkmarley, and you can find more info about his work at his NASA webpage and ADS publication list.

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