Silicate clouds and a dusty ring: JWST looks at YSES-1
In 2020, the YSES-1 system became the first directly imaged multiplanetary system around a Sun-like star. It features two giant exoplanets orbiting a star just 16 million years old. Now, the James Webb Space Telescope is revealing new insights into these distant worlds. Host Sarah Al-Ahmed speaks with Kielan Hoch, Giacconi Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute and principal investigator of the JWST program that captured these observations, and Emily Rickman, ESA science operations scientist at STScI and member of the JWST Telescope Scientist Team for coronagraphy. They explore what makes this system so unusual, including a dusty circumplanetary disk around YSES-1b and high-altitude silicate clouds in the atmosphere of YSES-1c. Later in the show, Bruce Betts joins for What’s Up to talk about how future telescopes like the Habitable Worlds Observatory could help us image smaller, colder, and older planets. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-yses-1See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Book Club Edition: Exploring the Overview Effect with Frank White
Author Frank White has interviewed well over 100 astronauts. Almost all of them report the sense of awe they experienced as they looked down or back at Earth, and how deeply this has affected their understanding and appreciation of our planet and the Cosmos. It’s what author Frank White calls The Overview Effect. Frank joined Planetary Society Senior Communications Adviser Mat Kaplan for a deep conversation about the ideas he shares in his book of the same name, now in its fourth edition. Here’s a great introduction to the Universe-spanning yet very personal ideas Frank has shared. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/book-club-frank-whiteSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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A “Star Trek” future: Your place in space
What do “Star Trek,” space advocacy, and the fight to save NASA science have in common? In this episode of Planetary Radio, we share a special panel recorded live at STLV: Trek to Vegas 2025, featuring Robert Picardo, actor and Planetary Society board member who played the Emergency Medical Hologram on ”Star Trek: Voyager,” and Tim Russ, actor, telescope enthusiast, and Voyager’s Lt. Tuvok. They’re joined by Andrew Pauly, director of marketing at The Planetary Society, and Ambre Trujillo, the Society’s digital community manager, for a conversation about how science fiction inspires real-world space exploration — and how fans can take action to protect it. Later in the episode, Jack Kiraly, director of government relations at The Planetary Society, discusses the recent wave of NASA employee departures and what it could mean for the future of space science. Then, in What’s Up, our Chief Scientist Bruce Betts reflects on the end of NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer mission. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-a-star-trek-futureSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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3I/ATLAS: The third interstellar object ever found
Just three interstellar objects have ever been detected in our Solar System, each arriving from the depths of interstellar space. In this episode, we explore the latest: 3I/ATLAS, a newly discovered interstellar comet first spotted on July 1, 2025. Bryce Bolin, research scientist at Eureka Scientific, joins host Sarah Al-Ahmed to share what makes this object special. As one of the few astronomers who has studied all three known interstellar objects—1I/ʻOumuamua, 2I/Borisov, and now 3I/ATLAS—he offers unique insight into how these rare visitors expand our understanding of planetary systems beyond our own. We also check in with Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, for a look at the upcoming ESA and JAXA’s Comet Interceptor mission, which may one day chase down a future interstellar comet. Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/2025-3i-atlasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Space Policy Edition: Is this the moment for in-space nuclear power?
The 2020s will be a decisive decade for in-space nuclear power. So argues Dr. Bhavya Lal, whose new report reframes the conversation around a simple idea: power, not propulsion, is nuclear's most immediate and disruptive capability. Power is what enables humans to stay and build on distant locales; without an abundance of it, she warns, we will never be more than visitors. But in an era of super heavy-lift capability, does this vision still require a nuclear solution, or can we simply brute-force our future in space with cheaper alternatives? Discover more at: https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/bhavya-lal-space-nuclear-powerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Om Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science
Planetary Radio brings you the human adventure across our Solar System and beyond. We visit each week with the scientists, engineers, leaders, advocates, and astronauts who are taking us across the final frontier. Regular features raise your space IQ while they put a smile on your face. Join host Sarah Al-Ahmed and Planetary Society colleagues including Bill Nye the Science Guy and Bruce Betts as they dive deep into space science and exploration. The monthly Space Policy Edition takes you inside the DC beltway where the future of the US space program hangs in the balance. Visit planetary.org/radio for an episode guide and much more.
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