I'm Imagining a Super Puffy Planet

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We're discovering all these xo planets that we didn't really anticipate could either could exist or, like, would exist. We found a lot of exo planets that are like so close to their stars that they're totally molten planets. But then there's these really weird low density planets, havea density like styrophone and cotton candy. Some of these planets shouldn't even exist based on our understanding of how fast atmosphere can get lost in space.

This week we have another longform episode! David got a little obsessed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) a few months ago and spent hours and hours researching and talking to experts so that he can try to explain it here on the podcast for Marques and Andrew. This one is a little dense but if you're even remotely interested in the mysteries of our universe this one is for you. David explains why the JWST is such a big deal and what we hope to discover once it begins sending back pictures.

Special thanks to:

Paul Geithner

Dr. Jonathan McDowell

Dr. Peter Gao

Tim Dodd

Sources:

How James Webb Orbits Nothing

Webb vs Hubble (NASA)

Fine Guidance Sensor (NASA)

JWST FAQ (NASA)

Where is Webb? (NASA)

Webb Orbit (NASA)