s2e6: Experimental Extraterrestrial Exo-Observatory

According to one survey, around one-third of Australians think aliens not only exist, but have actually visited Earth. That's ... a bit fraction. In this final episode of season 2, we ask how we'd even find out if life exists around other stars. Emily introduces the Habitable Worlds Observatory, an incredible new space telescope that's just in the early design phase and not due for years yet, with lots of technical and scientific holes to plug. Whether we can find life on other planets, who knows ... but maybe we've just found season three of Syzygy!

On the web: syzygy.fm

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Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Habitable Worlds Observatory

• Square Kilometre Array

• SETI and Jill Tarter

• Jocelyn Bell Burnell and the first pulsar

• Roman Space Telescope

• Designs for the HWO

• Exoplanet biosignatures