Growing Worlds

Dr Raissa Estrela from NASA's JPL explains how exoplanet observations reveal clues to Earth’s past and perfect balance. Your hosts, Jeni and Lorenzo, chat with Raissa about exoplanet spectra, through which scientists can decode the fingerprints of distant atmospheres, revealing chemical compositions, evolutionary stages, and even parallels to early Earth. These comparisons act as the perfect ‘textbook’ for understanding how planets form, change, and sustain life. Ultimately, Raissa’s message is clear: by studying other worlds, we learn the value and fragility of our own.

Bring yourself back to Earth through an inspiring chat with Dr Giulia Roccetti, an ESA research fellow at the European Space Astronomy Centre in Madrid. Hosts Jeni and Lorenzo join Giulia for a discussion about the innovative approach of using Earth as a proxy for exoplanet research through the investigation of Earthshine. Giulia’s journey started from her ever-present passion for environmental science, which led her to research that combines atmospheric physics, climate science and exoplanet research. She now develops advanced radiative transfer models to simulate how planets interact with light, using Earth as the test. Listen as Giulia talks us through the ‘pinball’ path of photons between Sun, Earth and Moon, and the complexities of modelling Earth’s atmosphere.

Explore the science of one of the trickier components of exoplanet science: clouds, as hosts Jeni and Lorenzo are joined by Dr Sushuang Ma, a researcher at King’s College London. Sushuang’s work centres on modelling and retrieving exoplanetary atmospheres. She shares the significance of temperature and the role it plays in determining the interesting characteristics of clouds, which are not the fluffy white water vapour clouds we are used to. Listen as the conversation guides you through the intriguing clouds of exoplanets and why we must go beyond the simple ‘opaque cloud’ models for the next generation of observations.