The Cosmic Companion VIP Newsletter - September 22, 2020

Dr. Natalie Hinkel of SwRI visits the show, telling us how phosphorus around other stars could help us find extraterrestrial life.

Hello everyone!

This week, we are joined by Dr. Natalie Hinkel, planetary astrophysicist at the Southwest Research Institute. We will talk about her work showing how we might look for phosphorus around other stars in the search for extraterrestrial life.

We will also talk about the discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, and what that means in the search for life on other worlds. We will learn about a new study showing how much of the gold in the Universe was formed, and we take an in-depth look at how phosphorus in the space around stars could help astronomers find life on planets in nearby solar systems.

The presence of phosphorus in distant star systems could make worlds in these worlds more likely to have developed life, a new study finds. By examining light coming from stars, astronomers may be able to pinpoint planets most likely to have developed life. Phosphorus is the rarest of six elements needed for biological reactions here on Earth. This week, we are joined by …