TRAPPIST‑1 e Revealed: Peering Inside an Exoplanet's Atmosphere

Join SETI Live host Moiya McTier with Néstor Espinoza (STScI) and Ana Glidden (MIT) for a deep dive into the latest JWST observations of TRAPPIST‑1 e, one of the most tantalizing Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of a nearby star. In this episode, we explore: 🛰 How JWST is peering into TRAPPIST-1 e's atmosphere (or lack thereof). 🔵 Why the planet almost certainly doesn't have a thick hydrogen envelope, ruling out a mini-Neptune-like world. 🪨 The emerging hints of a secondary, heavier atmosphere — or the possibility that it's a bare rock. ⭐️ The challenges posed by stellar activity and their implications for habitability. Get ready for a conversation about exoplanet atmospheres, habitability, and the next steps in characterizing worlds beyond our Solar System. Press release: http://webbtelescope.org/news-2025-109  Papers: Espinoza et al., https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf42e  Glidden et al., https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf62e (Recorded live 6 November 2025.)