Cool Worlds

Jupiter: Friend or Foe? | Elisa Quintana

Cool Worlds

Show Notes

Jupiter is the King of the Solar System but exoplanet surveys have revealed that it's an unusual type of world. Just ~10% of Sun-like stars have planets of the same mass and orbit as Jupiter. So could the existence of Jupiter be somehow beneficial to emergence of complex life, like us, on other planets in the system? On the hand, maybe Jupiter's strong gravity should scatter asteroids towards us, perhaps making things worse? Dr Elisa Quintana from NASA Goddard dropped in to the Cool Worlds Lab and explained her research trying to resolve the mystery of Jupiter's role: friend or foe?::More about this Video::► Quintana et al. (2016), "The Frequency of Giant Impacts on Earth-like Worlds": https://arxiv.org/abs/1511.03663► Johnson et al. (2010), "Giant Planet Occurrence in the Stellar Mass-Metallicity Plane": https://arxiv.org/abs/1005.3084► Cool Worlds Lab website: http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.edu► Columbia University Department of Astronomy: http://www.astro.columbia.edu► Outro music by Daft Punk "Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster": http://www.daftpunk.com and http://smarturl.it/DaftPunkiTunes::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! ヅ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More from Cool Worlds

Oct 27, 2026

Astronomers are finding habitable exoplanets everywhere! We are now starting to think about the next step, how can we use our telescopes to look for signs of life on distant worlds? Cool Worlds Lab astronomer Tiffany Jansen talks about possible atmospheric signals that could indicate the presence of a biosphere, but also the abiotic sources that could fool us all.::More about this Video::► Reinhard et al. (2017), "False negatives for remote life detection on ocean-bearing planets: Lessons from the early Earth": https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.01137► Hein et al. (2013), "Some inconvenient truths about biosignatures involving two chemical species on Earth-like exoplanets": https://arxiv.org/abs/1404.6531► Wordsworth & Pierrehumbert (2014), "Abiotic oxygen-dominated atmospheres on terrestrial habitable zone planets": https://arxiv.org/abs/1403.2713► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2026

This week a plot showing the global sea ice over time went viral due to shockingly low levels, smashing previous records. The plot was so weird that we decided to check out the data for ourselves and see if it was legit. Indeed, we can reproduce this alarming plot and provide some links and scripts for any of you who want to go ahead and try yourselves. Here we get into why we think these kinds of weird observations may become more common in the future.::More about this Video::► National Sea and Ice Data Center archive of sea ice extent data: https://nsidc.org/data/docs/noaa/g02135_seaice_index/► My Mathematica script used to generate a confirming plot: https://github.com/davidkipping/seaiceextent► Two of the first tweets publicizing the viral plot, Zach Labe (https://twitter.com/ZLabe/status/798913080168095744) and Eric Holthaus (https://twitter.com/EricHolthaus/status/800067428419940352).► Wipneus archive of plots: https://sites.google.com/site/arctischepinguin/home/sea-ice-extent-area/grf► Eric Holthaus blog article about the viral plot: http://tinyletter.com/sciencebyericholthaus/letters/today-in-weather-climate-sea-ice-tipping-point-edition-monday-november-21th► Guardian article on record Arctic temperatures: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/22/extraordinarily-hot-arctic-temperatures-alarm-scientists► CNN article on record Arctic temperatures: http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/world/sea-ice-arctic-antarctic-lows/► Conrath at al. (1970), "The Infrared Interferometer Experiment on Nimbus 3": http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/JC075i030p05831/abstract► Gavin Schmidt explains "How we know that the Earth's climate is changing": https://youtu.be/mkT7IyUSjq0► Video background music by Nick Caville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv2WSDMBRxA::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ►http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2026

Thanks for all of your great comments and questions on our last two Proxima b videos! Here's a quick video covering some of the most common questions about Proxima b, such as: Is it tidally locked? Can we image it with Hubble? Can we take a photo with a flyby spaceship?::More about this Video::► "Discovery of a Planet around our Nearest Star: Proxima b" Cool Worlds video by Dr Guillem Anglada: https://youtu.be/59ClESB1AqA► "Proxima b: Transits, Habitability & How to Get There!" Cool Worlds video by Prof Kipping: https://youtu.be/tcc635lNRwY► Video of zonal winds on a tidally locked planet taken from Merlis & Schneider (2010), "Atmospheric dynamics of Earth-like tidally locked aquaplanets": https://arxiv.org/abs/1001.5117► Leconte et al. (2015), "Asynchronous rotation of Earth-mass planets in the habitable zone of lower-mass stars": http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6222/632► Kreidberg & Loeb (2016), "Prospects for Characterizing the Atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b": http://arxiv.org/abs/1608.07345► Proxima b flyby video by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory, University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo: http://phl.upr.edu/press-releases/proxb► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2026

Use code coolworlds at https://incogni.com/coolworlds to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan.Many of you wanted me to talk about the different interstellar propulsion ideas out there so we figured a fun way to compare them all would be in a tier list! Today we take a look at 14 different methods proposed to explore the stars. Let us know your rankings down below in the comments.Written & presented by Prof. David Kipping. Edited by Jorge Casas.→ Support our research: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support→ Get merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store→ Check out our podcast: www.youtube.com/@CoolWorldsPodcastTHANK-YOU to T. Widdowson, D. Smith, L. Sanborn, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, S. Brownlee, E. West, T. Zajonc, A. De Vaal, M. Elliott, B. Daniluk, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Lee, Z. Danielson, C. Fitzgerald, C. Souter, M. Gillette, T. Jeffcoat, J. Rockett, D. Murphree, M. Sanford, T. Donkin, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, S. Marks, B. Smith, J. Kruger, S. Applegate, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, W. Evans, N. Corwin, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, R. Provost, G. Fullwood, N. De Haan, R. Williams, E. Garland, R. Lovely, A. Cornejo, D. Compos, F. Demopoulos, G. Bylinsky, J. Werner, S. Thayer, T. Edris, F. Blood, M. O'Brien, D. Lee, J. Sargent, M. Czirr, F. Krotzer, I. Williams, J. Sattler, B. Reese, O. Shabtay, X. Yao, S. Saverys, A. Nimmerjahn, C. Seay, D. Johnson, L. Cunningham, M. Morrow, M. Campbell, B. Devermont, Y. Muheim, A. Stark, C. Caminero, P. Borisoff, A. Donovan, H. Schiff, J. Cos, J. Oliver, B. Kite, C. Hansen, J. Shamp, & R. Chaffee.REFERENCES► Kipping, D., 2024, "The Halo Drive: Fuel-Free Relativistic Propulsion of Large Masses via Recycled Boomerang Photons", JBIS: https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.03423MUSICLicensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via CC Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) or with permission from the artist.0:00 Tamuz Dekel - Quiet Pull2:55 Joachim Heinrich - Horizon4:17 Joachim Heinrich - Stjärna6:40 Hill - World of Wonder7:46 Chris Zabriskie - The Oceans Continue to Rise8:17 We Dream of Eden - Discovery9:48 Chris Zabriskie - The Oceans Continue to Rise11:11 Hill - Arctic Warmth13:50 Hill - Northern Boards17:25 Hill - Fragile21:02 Hill - The MeekCHAPTERS0:00 Intro1:33 Chemical Rockets3:31 Nuclear Thermal Rockets5:55 Nuclear Pulse8:20 Incogni9:48 Solar Sails12:15 Fission Sails13:05 Laser Sails14:47 Alcubierre Drive15:24 Wormholes16:09 Antimatter17:28 Mind Upload18:02 Negative Mass18:42 Halo Drive19:46 Ion Engine20:32 Bussard Ramjet21:03 Outro22:51 Credits#InterstellarPropulsion #TierList #CoolWorlds Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 27, 2026

Astrobiology an exciting new field studying how life begins and the conditions needed both on Earth and elsewhere in the cosmos. Columbia's Director of Astrobiology, Dr Caleb Scharf, dropped into the Cool Worlds Lab to tell us about his new paper which created a "Drake Equation" for abiogenesis. Whilst we can only guess at many of the factors in the equation right now, it provides a framework for tackling this problem going forward.::More about this Video::► The paper by Scharf & Cronin (2016), "Quantifying the Origins of Life on a Planetary Scale": https://arxiv.org/abs/1511.02549► Drake Equation explained on the SETI website: http://www.seti.org/drakeequation► Outro music by Taylor Davis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl9kI1yQKZk::Playlists For Channel::Latest Cool Worlds Videos ► http://bit.ly/NewCoolWorldsCool Worlds Research ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsResearchGuest Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsGuestsQ&A Videos ► http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsQAScience of TV/Film ► http://bit.ly/ScienceMovies::Follow us::SUBSCRIBE to the channel http://bit.ly/CoolWorldsSubscribeCool Worlds Lab http://coolworlds.astro.columbia.eduTwitter https://twitter.com/david_kippingInstagram https://www.instagram.com/cool.worldsTHANKS FOR WATCHING!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See all episodes →