SETI Live

NASA's next great observatory is here.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is designed to revolutionize our understanding of the universe, from dark energy to thousands of newly discovered exoplanets. But one of its most exciting instruments is the Coronagraph—a cutting-edge technology that can block the overwhelming glare of distant stars, allowing astronomers to directly observe planets orbiting them.
Joining host Dr. Franck Marchis is Dr. Margaret Turnbull, senior scientist at the SETI Institute and Co-Principal Investigator on Roman's Coronagraph Instrument. She'll explain how this remarkable technology works, what we'll learn from the mission, and why Roman is paving the way toward future telescopes capable of imaging Earth-like worlds.
We'll discuss:
• Why Roman is NASA's newest flagship space observatory
• How a coronagraph "creates an artificial eclipse"
• The challenge of directly imaging exoplanets
• What Roman will reveal about giant planets and planetary systems
• How Roman prepares us to search for potentially habitable worlds
• What excites scientists most as launch approaches
Whether you're fascinated by exoplanets, space telescopes, or the search for life beyond Earth, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at one of NASA's most ambitious missions.

Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1976, Viking 1 became the first spacecraft to successfully land and operate on Mars, transforming our understanding of the Red Planet and launching a new era of planetary exploration. Today, sophisticated robotic explorers like Curiosity and Perseverance continue that legacy, searching for signs of ancient habitability and preparing the way for future human missions.
Join host Dr. Simon Steel and planetary scientist Dr. Pascal Lee as they explore the remarkable history of Mars rovers and landers—from Viking, Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance to the next generation of robotic explorers being developed for Mars, the Moon, and beyond. They'll discuss what we've learned from five decades of exploration, the technologies that made it possible, and where robotic exploration may take us next. Recent concepts even include adapting Mars rover technology for future lunar missions.
What have Mars rovers taught us about our neighboring world? What mysteries remain unsolved? And what might the next 50 years of planetary exploration look like?

Are we searching for extraterrestrial intelligence the wrong way?
For decades, SETI researchers have focused on finding narrowband radio signals that might stand out from the natural universe. But what if an advanced civilization that wanted to communicate chose a very different strategy?
Join host Dr. Lauren Sgro and UCLA astronomer Dr. Ben Zuckerman as they discuss his new paper, Broadband Searches for Extraterrestrial Technological Intelligence: A New Strategy to Find Nearby Alien Civilizations. The research proposes a new approach to SETI that focuses on broadband signals and existing astronomical surveys, potentially changing how we search for evidence of technological civilizations beyond Earth.
Could signs of extraterrestrial technology already be hidden in data we've collected for entirely different purposes? What can current observations tell us about the likelihood of nearby communicative civilizations? And what does the cosmos's apparent silence really mean?
Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae4c38

Could hazy exoplanet atmospheres be hiding important clues about alien worlds?
Many potentially habitable planets orbit small, active stars that frequently unleash powerful bursts of ultraviolet radiation. New research shows that this radiation can alter the chemistry and optical properties of atmospheric hazes, changing what astronomers see when they observe these distant worlds.
Join host Dr. Moiya McTier as she welcomes graduate researcher Lori Huseby (University of Arizona) and Dr. Sarah Moran (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) to discuss how laboratory experiments are helping scientists understand how stellar radiation affects water-rich exoplanet atmospheres. Their findings could improve how we interpret James Webb Space Telescope observations and future missions searching for signs of habitability beyond our Solar System.
How do stellar flares reshape alien skies? What do atmospheric hazes tell us about a planet's environment? And could understanding these hazes help us identify worlds capable of supporting life?
Paper: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6cdb

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