00:00How easy would it be to spot a bug crossing a stadium light from many miles away?
00:12An ability to do something similar is how we know exoplanets are out there.
00:19We can't see them directly. The stars they orbit look no better than this through Earth telescopes.
00:27But when a distant planet passes in front of its star, telescopes can detect that the star dims slightly.
00:38Starlight is made up of many wavelengths, including visible light, the colors of the rainbow, and invisible near-infrared heat radiation.
00:49Different gases in an atmosphere absorb different wavelengths of light,
00:55measuring how much starlight filtering through the atmosphere is absorbed at each wavelength tells us which gases are present and in what concentrations.
01:05The challenge is that star surfaces are dynamic, which can mask or mimic signals from a planet's atmosphere if the star is not well understood.
01:16The upcoming Pandora telescope will record the star's visible light and the star and planet's near-infrared spectrum simultaneously,
01:29making it easier to isolate the planet's atmospheric signature.
01:33Detecting signs of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane, or other organic components could suggest the planet is not only habitable, but maybe even alive.
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