JWST Reveals Exoplanets As Never Seen Before

JWST is approaching its one year anniversary since launching into space! So what has been found in that first year? Today we focus on exoplanets and summarize the various discoveries made thus far and what we can expect going forward.
Written and presented by Prof David Kipping. Edited by Jorge Casas. Thumbnail by Helena Widerstrom.
→ Support our research program: www.coolworldslab.com/support
→ Get Stash here! teespring.com/stores/cool-wor...
THANK-YOU to our supporters D. Smith, M. Sloan, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, A. Jones, S. Brownlee, N. Kildal, Z. Star, E. West, T. Zajonc, C. Wolfred, L. Skov, G. Benson, 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, S. Hannum, T. Donkin, K. Myers, A. Schoen, K. Dabrowski, J. Black, R. Ramezankhani, J. Armstrong, K. Weber, S. Marks, L. Robinson, S. Roulier, B. Smith, G. Canterbury, J. Cassese, J. Kruger, S. Way, P. Finch, S. Applegate, L. Watson, E. Zahnle, N. Gebben, J. Bergman, E. Dessoi, J. Alexander, C. Macdonald, M. Hedlund, P. Kaup, C. Hays, W. Evans, D. Bansal, J. Curtin, J. Sturm, RAND Corp., M. Donovan, N. Corwin, M. Mangione, K. Howard, L. Deacon, G. Metts, G. Genova, R. Provost, B. Sigurjonsson, G. Fullwood, B. Walford, J. Boyd, N. De Haan, J. Gillmer, R. Williams, E. Garland, A. Leishman & A. Phan Le.
::Music::
Music licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], Artlist.io, via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (creativecommons.org/licenses/..., or with permission from the artist
► Conception (0:00)
► Brad Hill - There Is But One Good (03:30) [open.spotify.com/album/4pmiXc...]
► Falls - Life in Binary (09:35)
► Indive - Trace Correction (14:26)
::Film/TV clips used::
► Interstellar (Paramount Pictures)
::Chapters::
00:00 Introduction
01:15 JWST Timeline
02:13 ERO
03:31 JWST Issues
05:42 ERS
06:59 Transit ERS
09:18 Imaging ERS
11:18 Cycle 1
12:12 Cycle 2
13:44 Final thoughts
14:26 Outro & Credits
#JWST #Exoplanets #CoolWorlds

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Couple of small corrections! The ERS program did involve a TAC, ideas were solicited from white papers that were chosen by a TAC, presented to the Director who then adopted the TAC's recommendations. So it wasn't a proper "cycle" but something inbetween. Also, the DD director is not Greg Robinson, he was the program director at NASA HQ, the director here was the STScI (Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore) - Ken Sembach. Just wanted to catch these errors on the record here! Thanks to Massimo Stiavelli for catching.

[@stevenmansour2368]

I bought a telescope because of your channel and instead of spending my nights watching TV or scrolling I'm staring up into the past and learning to love where we are on our pale blue dot. Thank you for the time and effort you put into making these, they're life-altering for a lot of us.

[@randomdazz]

I took mine apart to clean the mirror and im still working out how to put it back together again lol

[@stankythecat6735]

Very cool! There is some crazy stuff out there. Just wait till the next visible comet passes by !

[@tjlambaes]

I’m looking at getting one myself. Grats on your new hobby.

[@kjhman]

Bout time sir. I’ve been doing that for 20 years lol

[@seanaugagnon6383]

That's absolutely beautiful and wonderful. Ye mighty, look upon my works and despair. We are dust upon the wind of space and time.

[@j944ew]

Best moment in life is getting that cool world's new video notification.

[@GalitArt]

Facts man

[@KGB.83]

Yall really need to start rethinking your priorities 😒 🙄. Just saying

[@gravoc857]

@@KGB.83 Mind your business

[@GalitArt]

@@KGB.83 there's always a person not happy with their life trying to make themselves feel better by putting someone else down. You need to rethink your priorities and focus on. Your own boring life. I've noticed that people who are always worried about others are either 1. Unhappy or 2. Broke lol! Which one are you

[@xavian_hd1355]

You got it

[@chosentonessournotes]

Really appreciate that you’re not only a scientist but you take time out to educate your audience. Love this stuff. We may not hold the same views on things but I love this stuff.

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Thanks yes it’s a tricky balance!

[@stankythecat6735]

Well put !

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Absolutely agree - after you've been working all day and you're tired, to take the time to do something for others? that's awesome!

[@tombaugh7638]

100% he’s fast becoming my favourite on here. Hello from back home, by the way! With love from Yorkshire

[@mateusnicolinibezerra9757]

@@tombaugh7638 You are very handsome Superior British Daddy 😍🤤

[@tonytaskforce3465]

A scientist with the heart of a poet. Definitely my favorite scholar. 🤩 I'm keen on anything and everything to find other life in the cosmos; even if it's only little germs. It will be such a relief to know that we are not alone and that the whole burden of life and consciousness does not rest on us. 🤓

[@timvoliva2269]

I'm not an astrophysicist or even an astronomer but I do appreciate the work your team performs. Reading Carl Sagan's book Pale Blue Dot and learning about the great demotions made me curios to learn more about the wonders of the universe. The videos produced by the Cool Worlds team are some of the highest quality found anywhere. Keep up the good work.

[@pariah_carey]

While you are reading Sagan, check out “The Demon-Haunted World”.

[@aashishdevgun]

@@pariah_carey what is this book about and how does it relate with Carl Sagan?

[@pariah_carey]

@@aashishdevgun he wrote it. and it’s about Rational Skepticism and the Thesis that there is usually a Practical Explanation behind the Incidents of Alleged Paranormal/Supernatural Phenomena, like the Guys who admitted to faking the Crop Circles in England.

[@georgespalding7640]

To think that we are getting personal Insight from one of the individuals who actually is involved in the USE of this incredible scientific instrument is just such a privilege in itself. I am very fascinated by what we are about to witness on this channel, especially in relation to the JWST projects and their numerous discoveries. What a time to be alive.

[@MarkLLynch]

Truly amazing time to be alive!

[@InglouriousBradsterd]

Always great content and production. Cool Worlds is one of my favorite channels on YT.

[@bigjermboktown6976]

I've always said there's certain people on KZbin with certain content that apparently the universe picked to do the types of topics they do. And the Cool world's lab is certainly at the top! this guy is one of the main ones that got me back hooked on cosmology and you are the perfect person to narrate and make these sorts of videos! Just absolutely fn awesome

[@kirk1147]

Your enthusiasm and sense of wonder is absolutely infectious! Please keep Cool Worlds coming!

[@JamesOKeefe-US]

I love all the cool world videos so much but I wanted to mention that I appreciate this background science update. I am a non-scientist so these kinds of videos truly help to understand how tools like the JWST can be used and what things to expect from them. It adds a layer of excitement about the science to come so thank you for this!!

[@Sharkie1717]

Totally agree. Great stuff 👍

[@OnizukaKakashi47]

@James OKeefe This point you bring up about making it much easier to understand how the tools like the JWST can be used and what we can expect from them is very exciting indeed. This is crucial when it comes to inspiring new future scientists to pursue their careers in whatever field they happen to choose for their own personal career path. @Cool Worlds Inspiring others by making complex subjects easy to understand for non-scientists, new scientists, scholars and curious minds alike is one of David's biggest strengths and for that reason I think he is going to be one of the most successful science teachers of our generation.

[@lorddoinkus9912]

As an astrobiology nerd those Trappist-1 observations really are exciting and it's hard to contain it.

[@all0utmetal735]

I need every single shirt in your catalog. This is my absolute favorite channel ever.

[@sai269]

I've come to be more excited about your uploads than almost anything else I do on a weekly/monthly basis. Thank you so much.

[@CoolWorldsLab]

Thanks for watching everyone! Let me know what JWST science you're waiting for. BTW the tee I'm wearing is available here cool-worlds-store.creator-spring.com/listing/jwst-captures-smacs-0723

[@pieterzwaneveld5196]

Definitely the TRAPPIST-1 system. Hopefully we will see large proportions of oxygen in the atmosphere. Could we inver the average surface temperature of those worlds with JWST?

[@paulgray2928]

More exoplanet, fascinating 💪

[@chucksmith9047]

Dr. Kipping Your Cool Worlds channel is my favorite KZbin channel. Responding to your solicitation for JWST research areas, although I find many sub-disciplines of astronomy interesting, my pet interest area is star formation and stellar evolution. I read somewhere where there are only a few scopes that can penetrate the dust of embedded clusters. Their list included ALMA, LMT, and the 30m IRAM. SMA was not included for unknown reasons and there may be others. JWST was included in the list and I am looking forward to the science coming out of that instrument for that science discipline. After “The Pillars of Creation” release from the NIRcam, I waited with unbridled anticipation for the MIRI release. That release included three filters of which the longest wavelength was 14 microns. I am curious what the MIRI lower limit of about 28 microns might reveal. Please keep up the stimulating lectures on your channel.

[@thedarkknight1971]

Not that they will, BUT>>> I HOPE OF ALL HOPES that they get the 15 Metre Luvoir space telescope up there (for those not in the know, it's pretty much same design, but BIGGER!). As much as a HUGE leap in capability JWST is over the great piece of kit Hubble has/and continues to be (and we look for ward to the best JWST can give us so far). the 'Folding technology' has been proven to work (from compact to fully open 6.5 Metre mirror size). JUST IMAGINE how much more detail we could see, how much FURTHER BACK in time we could see, how much more information could we gleam from discovered and as yet undiscovered stars, planets, systems, gasses and much more with a full 15 Metre mirror (and by the time they start building it, it having the latest cutting edge technology, Image Sensors and computer systems on board). So yeah, I agree, we have yet to see/experience JWST at its finest.... But MAN!.... I R E A L L Y H O P E the 15m Luvoir gets built and sent up there too, before I 'Close my eyes for my big sleep' (I'm 51 now)... 🤞🤞🤞 😎🇬🇧

[@ShakySpaceYT]

Might be a bit of a boring answer, but I just cant wait to see more deep field images. There's just something truly breath-taking about them

[@kevinsayes]

If we find an exoplanet with chemical comps that suggest life to a high degree of certainty, I bet the Sagan telescope gets fully funded and launched much sooner than it probably would otherwise. That telescope will give us visible light images of other worlds. Can’t even imagine how cool it’s going to be to see someday

[@SixStringHarmonies]

I think we're all dying to see an Earth-like water world imaged.

[@michaelpipkin9942]

Whatever happens, I am just happy that the JWT got up there safe... And we all got home safe. THANKS for GIVING us this video.

[@bebrown2354]

Cool video. Its nice that you guys take the time to make these videos. Otherwise most of us would have no clue whats going on with JWST.

[@jamesgeary4294]

Everything about JWST is exciting, but exoplanets especially. Really interested in the atmospheric retrievals, especially if they can detect biosignatures. I'd like to hear what you think the capabilities of future space/ground telescopes might be, like the proposed Carl Sagan or Luvoir telescopes.

[@thagrintch]

Life in Binary! Thanks for keeping that song going in your videos! I play this for my students when we're studying math and always think of Cool Worlds. 1 million subscribers coming soon, another great topic, thank you David! Great content.

[@bbbl67]

Can you do any of these exomoon observations with Hubble, now that everyone is trying to get time on JWST? Also one topic you might want to cover would be the next generation telescope after JWST, which I think is now called the Carl Sagan observatory, but was previously known as LUVOIR? Compare the capabilities of Sagan vs. Webb vs. Hubble.

[@mondarchitect]

I feel so happy to see you so excited about your studies, man. Thanks for the amazing videos too. 😊

[@zobr0s77]

This is easily my favourite channel on youtube :D

[@Deamon93IT]

Good luck with Cycle 2! Would be so awesome to have JWST look at moons analogue to the ones in our backyard, as that should spur further interest

[@mentysmith7580]

Without a doubt, Cool Worlds videos are the best thing to exist on KZbin

[@rwarren58]

A wonderful gift for the holidays. Thank you for the video, Professor Kipping!

[@ShakySpaceYT]

Amazing vid as always :) love your stuff. Exoplanets are truly amazing

[@maavi4192]

I was just reading the paper on WASP-39b yesterday! I did a double take at the 33 Sigma confidence on the water vapor detection. I even had to Google to make sure my understanding of sigma was correct 😂 Im only an amateur with undergrad level education on this, but 33 Sigma sounds just absolutely ridiculously good. JWST scientist and engineers are the best of us

[@mikeoxmall69420]

33 Sigma That's science speak for "yeah that shits definitely there" 😂

[@MrGoogleChill]

I hope someday we discover a Moon around another star, that is large enough to hold down an atmosphere and it has lush, green and blue features. Essentially a real Pandora. That would be absolutely stunning.

[@andyoates8392]

Wouldn’t it be truly amazing if we got solid data for an Exomoon from JWST.

[@andyoates8392]

(It would be fantastic to give John Mather an unexpected surprise) 😁🤓

[@kgbstudio]

Dr Kippling, big fan here, sometime I would love to hear your take on "extreme" super-optimist futurism / long-termism and how we should propably balance this trend with a more balanced earth-oriented "new philosophy for the future" (which I tend more to)

[@stupidburp]

The most exciting part is all of it. The ability to collect better data on everything JWST can see and analyze it over years will build up a body of knowledge. This drops the veil slightly between humanity and the universe that blinds us to the unknown.

[@danielm2313]

I think the most exciting thing is the possibility of finding life on other planets, and i never understand the overall reluctance to look for it

[@Addison-RN]

I love your work ! Absolutely astonished every episode I watch and after every episode i applaud. Your voice is very soothing I play episodes I have already watched on loop and fall blissfully asleep - Wouldn't dare put on episodes i didn't see and risk missing something!

[@rayoflight62]

Thank you for the updates Prof. Kipping. It truly seems that we need more than one JWST. $10b seems a lot of money, but that is because they are procured by a single source or entity. All the astronomers of the world could convince their respective governments to jointly finance more Space Telescopes if they so need. Also, as it seems that in a Lagrange point there are more micrometeorites than originally thought; therefore future Space Telescopes may require a sort of shield around the mirror. Again, thanks. This is the best video update about the JWST on all of KZbin...

[@GoldReefCity]

I’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment in time, where we start seeing the product of JWST’s capabilities. 🎉🎉

[@folcwinep.pywackett8517]

This vid has to be the very best description of what JWST is actually doing! Bravo! My interest is in Exo-planet atmosphere analysis as a potential indicator of alien life!! Hopefully we might be able to answer the question: Is life rare or is it common in the Universe?

[@marcusmichael]

thanks, it's all so exciting that we can do this sort of thing, I don't have a preference for the results but the ability to detect exomoons is incredible news to me. cant believe it's been a year!

[@sgtepic4659]

I got myself a JWST tattoo with the background pattern of your T-shirt in this video, then a galaxy and an eye in the middle. I love this telescope so much

[@thelaughinghyenas8465]

Gorgeous and fascinating as always. Thank you.

[@mikedonovan4768]

Mindboggling. For years the idea of the detection of other planets was exciting enough, but the next step.....pictures ? Crazy ! In a good way. 🙂

[@KingBritish]

I can't wait for the first wave of documentaries on TV made using JWST's discoveries. Thanks for the upload as usual David.

[@freyatilly]

Super Intel. Love this. Thanks for the update

[@Flowmystic]

Your content is more that fantastic. Thank you and your team.

[@breakthecycle5238]

hey what a great treat this holiday morning! thanks

[@DiceDecides]

thank you for everything you do, i'm so glad i subbed

[@zengara11]

Glad to see that you made it-You are a good person

[@mrrob7531]

That was awesome! I love everything to do with space. We need to learn everything we can before we blow ourselves up.

[@mkteku]

So much awesomeness in your viddys! How do you stay organized with all this info, data, files? I think many would love to learn about/from your behind the scenes, too. Either way, go, Cool Worlds, go!

[@Yo3j2442]

This went deeper than most videos thank you for creating this in your space time.

[@thelonious-dx9vi]

This is the best video I've seen about my telescope, by far. Please more stuff like this.

[@waynekasmar4401]

You own the JWST?

[@warehouselead]

Always love your videos! I was getting worried about you and your team with how long its been. You were probably just busy though. I hope all is well!

[@kariusbaktus165]

This is the one we have all been waiting for after jwst launched!

[@73whitezz]

JWST has been amazing, I know there's so much science behind the pictures we have seen, but the sheer beauty of the images are what captures my imagination. Hubble has a special place in my heart & now JWST does too.

[@Frazer247]

Planet imaging, please! Cool Worlds deserves JWST's telescope time. Thumbs up if you agree! Thank you.

[@Cronites]

Thanks for the amazing explainer of JWST observations and it's near future. So exciting!

[@fotmheki]

Lovely t-shirt! Can't wait for the amazing discovery JWST would allow us!

[@tesseractofspaceland5126]

One of my most favourite channel. It's really a great achievement for our species.

[@gravelpit5680]

Good stuff. We star fans out here are also excited

[@RockHoward]

For exoplanet research I'm most excited about atmospheric analysis via spectrometry. Direct imaging of young systems is second, but all of it is cool.

[@JohnnyWednesday]

It's amazing to think that photons from life somewhere in the universe may have been reaching our eyes all our lives

[@makjanks]

Best channel on youtube. It's even better than Unchartedx

[@BigDsGaming2022]

you are pushing it lol

[@TheSearchPodcast]

YES!!! Love it when you guys put out new videos 👍👍

[@Ocelot56]

Great video! Hopefully we can get more planet imaging!

[@ricklayeux5688]

Excellent job, thank you!

[@michaelparker8657]

Love your channel David & I agree (of course) that the images from JWST are incredible.

[@zouganes]

Great stuff! Everything is really interesting in astronomy, but I would be particularly interested on the JWST's contribution to cosmology and the expansion of our knowledge about the universe as a whole. Thank you for your amazing videos.

[@nilesanders5110]

Love it. I like the content and like the length.

[@evetsgurk]

My favorite channel. I post links and recommendations repeatedly on my social media!

[@Makabert.Abylon]

Allways fast to click when i see cool worlds!

[@SqueakyChase]

Thank you for keeping me in a wonderous feeling of youthful curiosity Dr. Kipping. It's easy to get wrapped up in the complexities of everyday life; with the baggage of many politics and tangible horrors created by humanity...and then I hear your voice, intellect and wisdom as you carry me away to the edges of the universe with a laser focus of attention and objectivity.

[@Trygdog]

Definitely most looking forward to atmosphere analysis for possible signs of life

[@dernvader6876]

Great vid... thanks... I was really looking forward to those actual pictures of exoplanets, just fantastic ...

[@Hochspitz]

Our moon has been proven to be critical to this planet from whence we evolved. You bring astronomy and your dedication to finding exo moons fascinating.

[@jerrysstories711]

Since you asked... Please just keep giving us frequent updates of every single interesting thing JWST finds, don't wait for us to ask. Thanks! 🙂

[@blaircolquhoun7780]

You have some nice videos. I love them. Thank you.

[@simengrandal6898]

Hi Professor Kipping and The Cool Worlds Lab team!:D Another great video! Thanks! I got a suggestion for a future topic.. How about making a video of Nasa's DART-mission and how the collision affected the orbit of the satelite around its parent asteroid? Did it work as planned? What did we learn? etc.. I love your work and your productions! Best wishes from Norway;)

[@Naked_Snake]

This video aged well. Love your optimism at 13:46, congratulation on getting telescope time! Good luck and hope your team continues to make more amazing discoveries!

[@danie535]

Thank you for an awesome video as always! I am hoping for an exo moon discovery!

[@allenrhodes7361]

Very significant findings! Let's hope that the data doesn't fall apart. By the time we get to investigate in person, it might be habitable. Also, you might need a larger sized tee shirt.

[@jestermoon]

So long as you are making the presentation , It's all yours Keep on pushing Stay Free

[@dyotoorion1835]

Great vid as always. :-)

[@jasperwagen6879]

Love the content, some of the best science content out there

[@georgeflitzer7160]

Incredible! Very excited about all this! Ty so very much to the crews at NASA and of course this channel!❤❤❤❤

[@bellyvomit7460]

I love the idea of content on Exo-moons. I personally find moons to be just as interesting as planets. For me, Titan is the coolest object in our solar system with its methane lakes and all, and its not even a planet. So Yeah, Exo-moon content would be awesome, but then again everything on this channel is pretty awesome.

[@brookeberesford]

Lets hope the likes catch up to the subs. Stay thoughtful, stay curious! Thank you for this, love you guys. Keep at it.

[@robbie8142]

It blows my mind when I think a picture can be taken of a planet that is soooo far away. That planet was trillions and trillions of miles away. The distance to everything out there is "Insane!"

[@nickcaci7238]

Scope time… I remember back in the early 60’s a field trip up to the observation deck of the empire State building with the Boy Scouts the anxious wait I endured in the line before I could drop my quarter into the binoculars. I hope you get your time soon. Love your presentation.

[@amanipantam6449]

Ur explanation is very clear and loud sir

[@MichaelPhillipsatGreyOwlStudio]

I am so looking forward to the TRAPPIST-1 data! That cannot come soon enough for me.

[@toddkvamme]

Spent a good part of my career working NIRCam…and a chunk of that on the coronagraph assembly design on that instrument. So happy it’s working! 🙂

[@sandybarnes887]

Thx. Your work is much appreciated

[@danielporteous7904]

stellar formation i.e. orion nebula, proto-stars, accretion disk imaging is also looking exciting. can't wait for more data from orion, tarantula, taurus molecular cloud.

[@mbj__]

Very informative video as always. Thanks! Exoplanets is a very 'crowd pleasing' target these days and will for sure get ample JWST time. But shouldn't your team be able to piggyback many of those efforts to also catch exomoon candidated? I would expect that JWST projects investigating exoplanets could also support related investigations such as exomoons, indicators of biological life, atmospheric surprises (what if we found CFC's), and even megastructures. Perhaps it "only" takes the use of one extra instrument to be used during another existing observation project in order to support one or several other observation proposals.

[@ChrisBrengel]

2:01 early (gorgeous!) Photos 10:27 imaging an exo-planet! 12:41 JWST is the first time can find exo-moons

[@sachinpatwardhan629]

Wishing u n ur team some valuable jwst timeslot so that we will get to know some more interesting stuff in return.

[@jasongannon7676]

I would like to see a survey of open space looking for rogue objects or structures.

[@PhysioAl1]

Great episode!

[@ericThaBarbaric]

One thing I’ve never heard addressed or even voiced as a concern is it seems like micro-meteorites would congregate at Lagrange points. I’ve long wondered about this, and now knowing JWST has been hit by 19 so far this seems to be the case. Maybe I’m wrong?

[@AlamoCityCello]

Cool vid. Thanks!