SETI Live

The James Webb Space Telescope is transforming our understanding of exoplanets—but what happens when clouds get in the way? Astronomers have developed a new method to detect clouds and hazes in distant planetary atmospheres, helping researchers determine when they're seeing the planet itself and when weather obscures the view.
Join SETI Live as host Dr. Lauren Sgro welcomes lead author Dr. Sagnick Mukherjee to discuss this innovative method, how it works, and what it means for the future of exoplanet science and the search for life beyond Earth.
Press release: https://hub.jhu.edu/2026/05/21/astronomy-exoplanet-atmospheres-detecting-clouds/ 
Paper: http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adx5903

What happens after we discover evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence?
The International Academy of Astronautics has just ratified the first major update to the SETI post-detection protocols in more than 15 years. These new guidelines address the realities of today's world, including social media, AI-generated misinformation, deepfakes, international coordination, and the challenge of responsibly communicating extraordinary discoveries.
At the same time, the SETI Institute has launched the Discovery and Futures Lab, a new interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to exploring the scientific, social, ethical, legal, and cultural implications of discovering life beyond Earth.
Join host Dr. Lauren Sgro and guests Dr. Lucian Walkowicz and Dr. Chelsea Haramia as they discuss what these new protocols mean, why humanity needs to prepare for transformative discoveries before they happen, and how scientists, policymakers, communicators, and the public might respond if we ever receive convincing evidence that we are not alone.
Could humanity agree on how to respond? How do we combat misinformation? Who gets to speak for Earth? And what can history teach us about one of the biggest discoveries in human history?
Tune in for a fascinating conversation about the future of discovery, responsibility, and our place in the cosmos.
Press release on the updated protocols: https://www.seti.org/news/beyond-disclosure-day/ 
Press release on the Discovery and Futures Lab: https://www.seti.org/news/seti-institute-launches-discovery-and-futures-lab-to-explore-the-human-dimensions-of-life-beyond-earth/

What can a visitor from another star system teach us about our own cosmic neighborhood?
Join host Dr. Franck Marchis and guest Dr. Cecilia Tubiana (INAF) for a conversation about interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS and the surprising observations made by ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) during its rare close encounter with this ancient traveler.
In November 2025, Juice turned five of its instruments toward 3I/ATLAS, capturing a once-in-a-lifetime dataset as the comet passed through the Solar System. From massive water vapor outgassing to tails stretching millions of kilometers into space, the observations are helping scientists better understand what this object is made of, how it behaves near the Sun, and what it can tell us about planetary systems beyond our own.
We'll talk about:
• how Juice managed to observe 3I/ATLAS while en route to Jupiter
• what scientists learned about the comet's water, dust, and composition
• why this interstellar object looks surprisingly familiar—and why that's exciting
• how these observations support planetary defense and future spacecraft science
• what 3I/ATLAS may reveal about the early history of the Milky Way
Press release: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Five_things_Juice_has_revealed_about_Comet_3I_ATLAS

In this episode of SETI Live, Jeremy Webb joins Moiya McTier to discuss Life is But a Stream: The Distribution of Planetary Systems Along Stellar Streams and Their Properties.
Stellar streams are elongated structures of stars moving through the Milky Way, often shaped by tidal interactions and the galaxy's gravity. Jeremy Webb's research explores how planetary systems are distributed along these streams and what their properties can reveal about planet formation and evolution in dynamic galactic environments.
Together, they'll dive into how astronomers trace stellar streams, how planetary systems survive and evolve within them, and what this research tells us about the broader history of our galaxy.
Read the paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae67fd

What happens when hundreds of thousands of volunteers team up with NASA to explore the sky? In the case of Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, thousands of new brown dwarfs.
NASA citizen scientists have helped discover more than 3,000 brown dwarfs, effectively doubling the known population of these mysterious objects over the past decade. These discoveries are helping astronomers better understand the boundary between planets and stars, revealing rare ultra-cool worlds, extreme T subdwarfs, and even brown dwarfs that may host aurorae.
Dr. Lauren Sgro and special guest Dr. Adam C. Schneider (United States Naval Observatory) discuss how citizen scientists made these discoveries, why brown dwarfs are so difficult to detect, and what this growing catalog is teaching us about our galactic neighborhood.
Press release: https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/citizen-science/nasa-volunteers-double-known-population-of-brown-dwarfs/ 
Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae5b60 
Backyard Worlds: Planet 9: https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/marckuchner/backyard-worlds-planet-9