exocast

• 0:03:12 – Hannah chats with Dr Erin May a postdoctoral researcher at JHU’s Applied Physics Lab about her transition from extragalactic research into exoplanets, running an observing campaign as a grad student, and how to apply global circulation models to small exoplanets.
• 0:23:54 – Hugh discusses strange transits and the weirdest phenomenon observed with transiting exoplanet surveys from possible quadruple star systems, to orbiting debris, and definitely not aliens.
• 0:52:12 – Andrew is on the news desk reading ADS so you don’t have to with news of new planets from TESS and HARPS, characterization studies from Gaia, some habitable zone theory, and the upcoming CHEOPS launch by ESA.
• 1:00:50 – We review the events of the #ExoCup2019 competition and congratulate the winner HR 8799b and the direct imaging trifecta.
• 1:18:10 – Finally, our special guest Erin adopts the small plucky TESS planet HD 21749c to the Exocast Adopted Planet family.

• Hugh chats with his colleague at the University of Bern Dr. Brett Morris about starspots and their effect on exoplanet detection and characterisation, his experience with an astrobiology mission right here on Earth, and he recounts an exciting day in Bern earlier this year.
• Andrew discusses the labels we apply to the worlds we find, and the gang debates the usefulness of the terms for exoplanet science.
• And Hannah reads ADS so you don’t have to with news of new planets from TESS and HARPS, characterization studies from PanCET, and even a theory paper or two (including one from a co-host).
• The #ExoCup2019 is heating up!
• Finally, our special guest Brett laments the short but exciting life of the strange rock WD 1145+017 b as we officially welcome it into the Exocast Adopted Planets family.

On the 39th episode of exocast:

• Andrew chats with UC Irvine’s radial velocity expert (and occasional planet-killer) Dr Paul Robertson in the Exocast Studio.
• Hannah outlines how the 2019 ExoCup is going to play out, and Hugh performs the draw for the first round “live” on air.
• And Hugh reports from the Exocast news desk on arXiv’s wackiest exoplanet papers from the past month, plus we chat about Mayor & Queloz winning the 2019 Nobel prize for physics.
• Finally, our special guest Paul gives a personal plea to include Kepler-22b as an exocast Adopted planet.

• Hannah takes us to the Exoclimes V conference in Oxford to ask people what they most want to learn about outside of their area of study.
• Hugh details the four competing missions up for the NASA decadal: Lynx, Origins, HabEx, and LUVOIR
• And Andrew takes us through the most recent exoplanet news, including a discussion on the press sensation surrounding the discovery of water in the atmosphere of K2-18b – a mini-Neptune orbiting in its stars habitable zone.

• Quizmaster Hugh takes to the conference hall at the 1st TESS Science Conference (TESSCon) to test the attendees’ exoplanet knowledge!
• Andrew compiles a (not very) top secret report-out on planetary protection.
• And Hannah covers this month’s news including the detection of an exoplanet magnetic field, new planets from TESS, a Kepler-load of 350 new candidates, as well as advances in exoplanet population statistics and atmospheric characterization.

On the 36th episode of exocast:

• Andrew roves the conference hall at the Astrobiology Science Conference.
• Hannah goes through the ABCs of spectroscopy,
• And Hugh covers this month’s news including new solar system missions Dragonfly & Comet Interceptor, new occurrence rates, plus the new exoplanets (such as PDS-70b, Teegarten’s star b & c) which took the Exoplanet Archive over 4000 alien worlds.

On the 35th episode of exocast we welcome special guest Dr Thomas Haworth into the virtual Exocast Studio.

• Hannah talks with special guest Dr Thomas Haworth about planet formation in extreme environments and the role the stars play in shaping their planets.
• Hugh covers the ins and outs of how exoplanets can be detected using Direct Imaging
• Andrew reports from the Exocast news desk on this months exoplanet papers
• And special guest elects PDS-70b into the Exocast Adopted planets family.

Correction: Where Hugh states “Epsilon Eridani b” was found by GPI/Sphere, he means “51 Eridani b”.

On the 34th episode of Exocast:

• Hugh is joined by Dr.Raphaëlle Haywood, Sagan Fellow at Harvard College Observatory, and expert in disentangling the signal of planets and their host stars in radial velocity surveys;
• Andrew explores the depths of time, taking a virtual trip back to the formation of the planet and solar system using radioactive isotope abundances;
• Hannah takes a look at some hot-off-the-press exoplanet discoveries from April 2019;
• And Raphaëlle adopts the super hot, super interesting, Super Earth COROT-7b into the Exocast Adopted Planets family.

On the 33rd episode of Exocast:

• Andrew is joined by NASA Ames’ Dr. Jessie Dotson – K2 project scientist, former head of Kepler’s Guest Observer office, and planetary defence specialist;
• Hannah tours our solar system’s Ice Giants and looks for comparisons in the world of exoplanets;
• Hugh takes a look at some hot-off-the-press exoplanet discoveries from March 2019;
• And Jessie adopts the newly-confirmed Kepler-1658b into the Exocast Adopted planets, which 9 years ago was the first Kepler planet candidate (as KOI-4).

On the 32nd episode of Exocast:

• Hannah is joined by Dr Joanna Barstow, UCL’s exoplanetary atmosphere expert, recent astro-mum, and huge fan of “JWST: The Musical”*.
• Hugh transfers the podcast to TRAPPIST-1 and asks the question: “How many of the Solar System’s planets would we detect?”
• Andrew covers the enormous hit that was Kepler-107c’s density, new TESS planets, the NASA Archive’s 4000th exoplanet, plus dearly departed NASA missions.
• And Joanna adopts Venusian analogue GJ 1132b into the Exocast Adopted planets family.

*This is neither true nor, in fact, exists. Yet.