Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What happens when a planet is full of water—but too hot for oceans? Meet the “steam worlds,” exotic exoplanets wrapped in thick water vapor and boiling at thousands of degrees. These strange worlds may be far from habitable, but they’re reshaping how scientists think about planets, water, and where life might exist.
In this episode of SETI Live, host Beth Johnson talks with Artem Aguichine of the University of California, Santa Cruz, about his new research modeling the interiors and atmospheres of steam worlds—a class of water-rich sub-Neptunes that could dominate our galaxy. With data from the JWST revealing steam signatures on distant planets, these models are helping scientists decode what’s really going on beneath the haze.
Join us as we explore:
• What defines a “steam world” and how it forms
• How water behaves under crushing pressure and searing heat
• Why JWST’s new observations are changing the game
• What these discoveries mean for the future search for life beyond Earth
🔗 Learn more:
UCSC Press Release – https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/08/new-model-steam-worlds
Research Paper – iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/add935
SciTechDaily Coverage – scitechdaily.com/jwst-detects-steam-on-distant-exoplanets-could-exotic-water-worlds-rewrite-the-search-for-life
#SETILive #Exoplanets #JWST #Astrobiology #WaterWorlds #ScienceCommunication
📺 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.
What happens when a planet is full of water—but too hot for oceans? Meet the “steam worlds,” exotic exoplanets wrapped in thick water vapor and boiling at thousands of degrees. These strange worlds may be far from habitable, but they’re reshaping how scientists think about planets, water, and where life might exist.
In this episode of SETI Live, host Beth Johnson talks with Artem Aguichine of the University of California, Santa Cruz, about his new research modeling the interiors and atmospheres of steam worlds—a class of water-rich sub-Neptunes that could dominate our galaxy. With data from the JWST revealing steam signatures on distant planets, these models are helping scientists decode what’s really going on beneath the haze.
Join us as we explore:
• What defines a “steam world” and how it forms
• How water behaves under crushing pressure and searing heat
• Why JWST’s new observations are changing the game
• What these discoveries mean for the future search for life beyond Earth
🔗 Learn more:
UCSC Press Release – https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/08/new-model-steam-worlds
Research Paper – iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/add935
SciTechDaily Coverage – scitechdaily.com/jwst-detects-steam-on-distant-exoplanets-could-exotic-water-worlds-rewrite-the-search-for-life
#SETILive #Exoplanets #JWST #Astrobiology #WaterWorlds #ScienceCommunication
📺 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.
