How do we find exoplanets? What is the Milky Way’s “Thick Disk” and what makes it so special? To find out, Dr. Charles Liu and co-host Allen Liu welcome Harvard astronomer Dr. Victoria DiTomasso, who has discovered an exoplanet system that includes exoplanet HD60079 b, which she sometimes calls “Bubbles.”

As always, though, we start off with the day’s joyfully cool cosmic thing, a paper just recently published about the exoplanet Teegarden Star b. Dr. DiTomasso explains the difference in exoplanet research between the observational studies she does and the theoretical modeling represented in the paper.

She goes on to discuss recent, exciting theoretical work coming out of UCLA that posits that rather than have our water brought to Earth by comets, we started out as a larger, sub-Neptune planet with a larger hydrogen-helium envelope that we’ve lost over time. This is a pattern seen in some exoplanets, especially given the fact that Super Earth and sub-Neptune planets are the most common types of planets we’ve found, yet we have none in our solar system.

After we find out why a planet Chuck studied was called Flagellan, it’s time to find out how Victoria goes looking for exoplanets, and how she found Bubbles – with an assist from a team of citizen scientists. You’ll learn about using the transit method for discovering exoplanets and identifying potential targets with TESS, the Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite and other instruments.

Dr. DiTomasso explains the differences between the Milky Way’s younger “Thin Disk,” the older “Thick Disk,” and the oldest of all, the Milky Way’s “Halo.” Victoria studies the chemistry of stars to categorize them and their planets by age. She’s found 4 stars in the thick disk that have “Hot Jupiters” so far, which is more impressive when you learn that we only knew about one before her work.

Then it’s time for a question from the audience. Grace asks, “Has the environment ever been as bad as it is now, and can it heal by itself?” Chuck, Allen and Victoria discuss changing environments on exoplanets and on Earth, the difference between long and short term change, and the possibility of recovery.

Finally, Chuck asks Victoria what she does outside of astronomy, and we learn all about her new hobby, crocheting. Don’t miss her show and tell, which includes Fred, the cutest crocheted dinosaur to ever appear on The LIUniverse. Victoria also talks about her other hobby, visiting museums – especially art museums. If you’re watching this episode on YouTube, you get to see one of her current favorite exhibits, which consists of semi-abstracted felted wool sculptures of creatures and supernatural beings (yōkai) at the MassArt Museum (MAAM) in Boston.

If you’d like to know more about Dr. Victoria DiTomasso, you can find her on LinkedIn . But to see her latest telescope photos that she took during her observing trip to the Canary Islands, check out her Instagram @victoriaditomasso. (We’ve included some of those photos in the episode - just another reason to watch on YouTube!)

We hope you enjoy this episode of The LIUniverse, and, if you do, please support us on Patreon.

Credits for Images Used in this Episode:

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Intro and Let’s Meet Dr. Victoria DiTomasso

03:53 - Joyfully Cool Cosmic Thing of the Day: Exoplanet Teegarden Star B

06:20 - Super Earth and Sub-Neptune Exoplanets

12:46 - The Discovery and Naming of Bubbles the Exoplanet

20:32 - The Difference Between Milky Way’s Thin Disk, Thick Disk, and Halo

27:58 - Audience Question: Has the Environment Ever Been this Bad?

36:51 - Crocheted Dinosaurs and Giant Felt Museum Creatures

45:14 - Victoria DiTomasso’s Observing Trip to the Canary Islands

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