We have begun to understand the composition of worlds that are hundreds of trillions of kilometers from Earth. Astronomer Nikole Lewis is co-leader of a team that has used the Hubble Space Telescope to do this with the four Earth-like planets circling a star called TRAPPIST-1. Host Mat Kaplan talks with Digital Editor Jason Davis about a new probe designed to discover thousands of additional exoplanets.  Want to win a Planetary Radio t-shirt? Answer this week’s space trivia question posed by Planetary Society Chief Scientist Bruce Betts. Learn more about this week’s topics and see images here: http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/planetary-radio/show/2018/0411-nikole-lewis-trappist-worlds.htmlLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visiting the Earth-Like Worlds of TRAPPIST-1

Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.

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We explore NASA's first tabletop role-playing game with senior multimedia specialist Christina Mitchell and a new way to find water worlds with Amaury Triaud from the University of Birmingham.

Tabletops and telescopes: NASA’s RPG and the hunt for habitable worlds

This week on Planetary Radio, Latif Nasser, co-host of Radiolab shares the story behind the naming of Zoozve, a quasi-moon of Venus.

Radiolab helps name a quasi-moon of Venus

Former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin discusses his claim that there is a tension between the so-called Real reasons that motivate spaceflight and the prosaic, Acceptable reasons used to justify space exploration within the public sphere.

Space Policy Edition: Real and Acceptable Reasons for Space Exploration

Planetary Radio marks its last show before the Apr. 8 total solar eclipse with a look back at discoveries made during totality.

Syzygy science: Discoveries made during total solar eclipses

Ron Benner, the President of the American Optometric Association, and astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy give helpful tips for safely observing the upcoming total solar eclipse in North America.

Visiting the Earth-Like Worlds of TRAPPIST-1

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