Name: The search for planets beyond our solar system
Uploaded: 2015-05-28T15:21:08Z
Duration: 16 min 5 s
Description: Every star we see in the sky has at least one planet orbiting it, says astronomer Sara Seager. So what do we know about these exoplanets, and how can we find out more? Seager introduces her favorite set of exoplanets and shows new technology that can help collect information about them -- and even help us look for exoplanets with life.

Here I say, "And under that wouldn't be rock, but a form of high-pressure ice, like ice IX." 

I used ice IX to refer to the general category of high-pressure ices because it's a familiar term from Kurt Vonnegut's *Cat's Cradle*, but if GJ 1214b, the planet I'm discussing here, is in fact a water world, its most likely form is ice VII (and possibly ice X) due to the planet's predicted interior temperatures. See the upper left of this [water phase diagram](http://ergodic.ugr.es/termo/lecciones/water1.html).

Every star we see in the sky has at least one planet orbiting it, says astronomer Sara Seager. So what do we know about these exoplanets, and how can we find out more? Seager introduces her favorite set of exoplanets and shows new technology that can help collect information about them -- and even help us look for exoplanets with life.

Sara Seager: The search for planets beyond our solar system

The search for planets beyond our solar system

Every star we gaze upon harbors at least one planet, revealing a cosmos brimming with exoplanets, poised for exploration.

The quest to pinpoint Earth's twin ignites imaginations, with astronomers leveraging new tech to unveil distant worlds' secrets.

Imagining other Earths, scientists ponder atmospheres for signs of life, dreaming of discoveries that redefine our place in the universe.