We know, we know — we did exoplanets last time. But that was the current state-of-play and a 2024 exoplanets wrapped update. In this episode, Emily looks to the future! She does a deep dive into the promise of the just wonderful JWST, as it prods exoplanets in ways they’ve never been prodded before.

On the web: syzygy.fm

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• The JWST mission

• The Transit method

• Exoplanet Phase Curves

• Exoplanet GJ1214b and the phase curve paper

• Transmission spectroscopy

• Exoplanet WASP 39b

• Direct imaging of exoplanets

• Exoplanet HIP65426b

• The JWST first release images

• The WASP 96-b “dodgy graph” (see Brundsen, 2025)

• Exoplanet WASP 43b’s day and night (and the Nature paper)

• The Trappist 1 system

It couldn't be a season of exo-stuff without taking a good hard look at the current state of exoplanets, the OG exo-thing. Emily sums up the state of exoplanet research in 2024 — her Exoplanets 2024 Wrapped, if you like — then lines up her top three exoplanets of the year, and considers what's coming up next in this exo-ploding field.

On the web: syzygy.fm

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Exoplanets found in 2024

• The Roche Limit

• Paper about Gliese 4256b and a nice article

• Comet Shoemaker Levy smashes into Jupiter!

• Brand-new IRAS 04125+2902: paper and article

• Retrograde hot Jupiter TIC 241249530 b: paper and article

Exoplanets, sure. Exo-moons too, apparently. But exo ... comets?! Yes indeed, they're a real thing, and we've known about them for ages! How do you spot something so tiny around another star, so far away? Emily has the insider knowledge, because it's something she's genuinely investigating in her job as an actual, real-life astronomer.

On the web: syzygy.fm

Help us make Syzygy even better! Tell your friends and give us a review, or show your support on Patreon: patreon.com/syzygypod

Syzygy is produced by Chris Stewart and co-hosted by Dr Emily Brunsden from the Department of Physics at the University of York.

Some of the things we talk about in this episode:

• Comets: dirty snowballs

• Exocomets

• Famous comets

• Shoemaker-Levy’s Jovian rendezvous

• Beta Pictoris, HyperMegaMall of astrophysics

• Exocomets around Beta Pic

• TESS, everyone’s favourite exo-hunter