Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Join SETI Live host Moiya McTier with Néstor Espinoza (STScI) and Ana Glidden (MIT) for a deep dive into the latest JWST observations of TRAPPIST‑1 e, one of the most tantalizing Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of a nearby star.
In this episode, we explore:
🛰 How JWST is peering into TRAPPIST-1 e’s atmosphere (or lack thereof).
🔵 Why the planet almost certainly doesn’t have a thick hydrogen envelope, ruling out a mini-Neptune-like world.
🪨 The emerging hints of a secondary, heavier atmosphere — or the possibility that it’s a bare rock.
⭐️ The challenges posed by stellar activity and their implications for habitability.
Get ready for a conversation about exoplanet atmospheres, habitability, and the next steps in characterizing worlds beyond our Solar System.
Press release: webbtelescope.org/news-2025-109
Papers:
Espinoza et al., iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf42e
Glidden et al., iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf62e
📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it.
If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: seti.org/donate
Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science:
🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute
🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at twitch.tv/setiinstitute
🎧 Listen to our podcast feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss
📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter seti.org/signup
👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI
Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go live.
Join SETI Live host Moiya McTier with Néstor Espinoza (STScI) and Ana Glidden (MIT) for a deep dive into the latest JWST observations of TRAPPIST‑1 e, one of the most tantalizing Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of a nearby star.
In this episode, we explore:
🛰 How JWST is peering into TRAPPIST-1 e’s atmosphere (or lack thereof).
🔵 Why the planet almost certainly doesn’t have a thick hydrogen envelope, ruling out a mini-Neptune-like world.
🪨 The emerging hints of a secondary, heavier atmosphere — or the possibility that it’s a bare rock.
⭐️ The challenges posed by stellar activity and their implications for habitability.
Get ready for a conversation about exoplanet atmospheres, habitability, and the next steps in characterizing worlds beyond our Solar System.
Press release: webbtelescope.org/news-2025-109
Papers:
Espinoza et al., iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf42e
Glidden et al., iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf62e
📺 SETI Live is a weekly livestream from the SETI Institute, featuring researchers and discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—and our place within it.
If you like science, support the SETI Institute! We're a non-profit research institution focused on understanding the nature and origins of life in the universe. 💸 Donate here: seti.org/donate
Learn more about the SETI Institute and stay up-to-date on awesome science:
🛎 Subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/c/SETIInstitute
🕹 Watch our streams over on Twitch at twitch.tv/setiinstitute
🎧 Listen to our podcast feeds.libsyn.com/462636/rss
📧 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter seti.org/signup
👕 Buy merchandise from Chop Shop chopshopstore.com/collections/seti-institute/SETI
Don't forget to like and subscribe! Ring the bell for notifications of when we go live.
