The Cosmic Companion VIP Newsletter - December 21, 2020

Sneak preview: Dr. Paul Kalas, astronomer at UC Berkeley, discussing his work studying HD 106906 b, which could resemble a ninth planet in our solar system

Hello everyone!

For this final episode of our third season, we welcome Dr. Paul Kalas from UC Berkeley to the show. He is an astronomer studying the exoplanet HD 106906, which might resemble an unseen ninth planet in our own solar system.

The exoplanet HD 106906 b might resemble a theoretical massive planet orbiting far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Image credit: The Cosmic Companion / Created in Universe Sandbox

But first, we journey far out in space and back in time, as astronomers lay their sights on the most distant – and oldest – galaxy ever seen. Closer to home, we examine the discovery of hexamine – a chemical critical to the development of life – inside an asteroid. Finally, we listen in on radio waves from the exoplanet Tau Boötis b, and learn how it shows the first-ever evidence for a magnetic field surrounding a planet in an alien solar system.

Here’s tomorrow’s episode of the show, in an advance showing for our VIP subscribers: