Coming up on The Children's Hour, we learn about exoplanets, the planets that are found outside
of our solar system, with exoplanetologist Dr. Diana Dragomir from the University of New
Mexico. Dr. Dragomir is part of a very small group of scientists who are searching the
galaxy for exoplanets. We'll explore how they find them, what we know so far, and how we
can all join the hunt. We'll even find out if they've found aliens yet. There's a learning
guide with this episode at ChildrensHour.org. Look for exoplanets. Stick with us to learn
more. The Children's Hour is an independent production of The Children's Hour Incorporated,
a New Mexico based non-profit. We're distributed by Native Voice One, the Native American radio
network. It's time for The Children's Hour. Kids Public Radio!
Why did the planet have a chicken sitting on it? I don't know, why? Because it was an egg-xo
planet.
It's time for The Children's Hour. Kids Public Radio!
Looking for a planet, for a planet, for a planet. Where I might rest my burrow for the night
Brush out all his nettles and thank him for his company I'm looking for a planet in the
sky I'm looking for an ocean, for an ocean on a planet. Where I might rinse the journey
from my clothes And wash away my soreness in the music of the tide I'm looking for an ocean.
Ocean on a planet I'm looking for a planet in the sky I'm looking for a mountain, for
a mountain by the ocean. Where big cats and the grizzlies have their way. And the hills
they give me shelter from the howling winds of winter I'm looking for a mountain, a mountain
by the ocean, an ocean on a planet. I'm looking for a planet in the sky. I'm looking for a
valley, for a valley near a mountain, where kindness is the way of everyone. neighbors
all respect me and they even like my burrow I'm looking for a valley, a valley near a
mountain. A mountain by the ocean, an ocean on a planet I'm looking for a planet in the sky
Looking for a meadow, for a meadow in a valley. Where bluebells and geraniums prevail I can
pick a bundle and make a fine bouquet I'm looking for a meadow, meadow in a valley. A
valley near a mountain, a mountain by the ocean. An ocean on a planet, I'm looking for a planet
in the sky I'm looking for a stable, for a stable in a meadow. Where I might rest my burrow
for the night. Shout all his medals and thank him for his company Looking for a stable, stable
in a meadow. A meadow in a valley, a valley near a mountain. A mountain by the ocean, an ocean
on a planet.
Looking for a planet in the sky
Thats the Green Chili Jam Band looking for a planet from a CD called Coconut Moon. And that's
what we're going to be doing today. We're going to be talking with people who actually are
looking for planets. But before we get there, you're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm
Katie Stone. I'm so happy to be with everybody today, including all these great kids on our
crew. Hello. Hi! It's so nice to see everyone here. Who do we have with us? Hi, I'm Camila.
Hello, it's Isaac. Hi, it's Evan. Happy day, it's Maya. Hi, it's Illuminata. Hi, it's Octavia.
Hi, it's Thaniel. Cock-a-doodle-doo, it's Maya and Lou. Hi, it's Corbit. Hi, it's Airdrie and
Flo. Hello, it's Zen. Hello, it's Amadeus. Well, everyone, thank you for being here today.
I'm really excited about this show because we're going to be getting out of this world. We're
going to galaxies far, far away or nearby, and we're going to explore exoplanets. Does anyone
on the crew want to take a stab at what they think an exoplanet might be? A planet that
is out of our solar system, I think. I think that might be right. Yeah, Corbit. An exoplanet
is not a planet. Pluto is a good example. Pluto is an exoplanet. All exoplanets are technically
in the solar system. They're just not actually planets. And there's a long set of rules describing
what's a planet, what's an exoplanet, and what's what that I don't really have memorized. I
think I would agree more with Maya. An exoplanet, from what I know, is a planet outside of our
solar system. And I think what I think Corbett was saying was a dwarf planet and those are
smaller celestial bodies. Well, this just goes to show we do have a lot to learn today
on The Children's Hour. We're going to be focusing on exoplanets with a professor of physics and
astronomy from the University of New Mexico, Dr. Diana Dragomir. And she's going to enlighten
us about everything to do with exoplanets. And we're also going to learn the latest and
greatest information about exoplanets and how they're being discovered today and how many
there are as of right now. But speaking of Pluto, which I'm glad you brought up, Corbit,
Pluto is very, very special here in the state of New Mexico where we are, because it was
discovered by a New Mexican astrophysicist named Clyde Tombaugh. And so when Pluto was declared
to be too small to be a legitimate planet. The state of New Mexico did something pretty unique.
There was actually a piece of legislation that was passed to declare that in the state of
New Mexico, Pluto will always be a planet. Today's show is mixed with great music and we have
so much to learn together about exoplanets with Dr. Dragomir, but first. This song is for
Pluto. And for all those who have ever found themselves on the outside looking in.
I heard it on the news this morning not a planet anymore
sank in I felt confused things would not be as they were before you first emerged in
1930 when Clyde Tombaugh spotted you in space and you were named by a young British girl
What big rock could ever take your place? You'll always be a planet to me Pluto, you're
the coolest icy mass in the galaxy Your orbit is eccentric and Neptune's path may intersect
it Be a planet to me
Scientists have said you're just too small
Even smaller than the us-own moon But that's never bothered me at all.
Some people say that you seem distant 3.6 billion miles from the sun. To think of you as just
far out In my heart you're always number one be a planet to me. Pluto, you hold such a special
place in astronomy. You may have been demoted, but I will always be devoted And you'll always
be a planet to.
Mercury and Venus are two amazing planets Earth and Mars and Jupiter are fine Saturn and Uranus
and Neptune are great. But why do we have to stop with eight?
Be a planet to me, To your mass, your every quality. There's no way to resist them. Cause
you still rock my solar system.
Be.
Mark Burrows right here on The Children's Hour from Go, Galileo with Ode to Pluto. And
I'm Katie Stone. Today on The Children's Hour, we are with Dr. Diana Dragomir. She's a professor
of physics and astronomy at the University of New Mexico, and she is an exoplanetologist.
Welcome to The Children's Hour, Dr. Dragomir. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here. We're happy
you're with us too, Dr. Dragomir. So you heard the kids talking about what they think exoplanets
might be. How did we do? So I think that there were bits of the right answer in what everyone
said. An exoplanet is a planet around another star or other stars. That said, if we ever
detect a planet or an object as small as Pluto around another star, Are we going to call
it an exoplanet or an exo-dwarf planet? We don't know yet. We haven't quite gotten there. What
makes an exoplanet an exoplanet? So an exoplanet is a planet around any star except our sun.
Any of the stars you see in the sky at night, if there's a planet around those stars, that's
an exoplanet. From how far have we been able to find exoplanets? I will tell you that
some astronomers think that we have already detected exoplanets in another galaxy. So that
is pretty far, but those planets, we're not all sure that we've really seen that.
Sometimes you think you see a planet and it turns out it was just noise and you didn't
see one. Otherwise in our own galaxy, well-- So if we are about-- the Earth is between the
middle of the galaxy and kind of the edge of the galaxy where the spiral arms are,
we've seen planets or have detected planets to basically like half that distance, so close
to the middle of the galaxy, pretty far away. How do you detect exoplanets? Oh my gosh,
how much time do we have? Well, so there's a number of different methods, but I'm going
to tell you about the one that I like the best. Planets move around their own stars, just like
we move around sun. um And if we're looking at a planet and star system, just from
the right direction, we can actually measure when the planet passes in front of the star.
And what that does is that it makes the star a little bit dimmer. So if you imagine you're
out at night and you're looking at a street light and a big fly or a big moss passes
in front of the street light, you might not see the fly because it's really fast and it's
dark out, but you might see that the light is dimming a little bit. So basically that's
how we're finding exoplanets as well. We're noticing that the star is dimming. just a tiny
bit because this planet has gone swoosh kind of in front of it. And from that measurement,
we can tell the size of the planet. It's kind of crazy. What is the bare minimum to have
a planet be a planet? Maybe are you referring to Pluto losing its planet status? Well, it
was a planet, but when the state said it is not a planet anymore, and that is that.
So let me start by saying that Pluto is an amazing object. It doesn't really matter what we call
it. The reason, it's really just about words. And calling an object a dwarf planet, which
is what Pluto is now, is not a downgrade at all. It's really just words, honestly.
To me, Pluto is as interesting as any of the other planets in the solar system. What's
the most interesting exoplanet you found? There are so many. Well, so I will tell you that
when we started looking for planets ever since then, we've been finding a lot of planets.
So basically a lot of exoplanets around other stars, right, that are much closer to their
star than even Mercury is to our sun. Was that surprising? Oh yeah, that was super surprising
because you know, we have eight planets in the solar system and a whole bunch of smaller,
you know, dwarf planets and they're all quite far from the sun by those standards. And then
a lot of the exoplanets that we are finding are actually closer to their star than even
Mercury is. So they're really, really hot because they're orbiting really, really close. So one
year on. One of the most interesting exoplanets like that --is what like, okay, so-- it's not
365 days. It's only 17 hours long. So one year, 17 hours long. I don't think that's quite
the record, but it's pretty close. So that planet is really hot. It's probably just made
of lava all over. It's probably like a molten planet. The surface is evaporating. You probably
can't live on it, but what is it doing there and how did it get there and that kind of
stuff. I'm really almost just as interested in those questions as I am in finding life
on other planets. We're talking with Dr. Diana Dragomir. She is an exoplanetologist and professor
of astronomy and physics at the University of New Mexico. And let's talk about life on other
planets after this. You're listening to The Children's Hour. Look into the sky Peering
deep in outer space while things are flying I asteroids, meteors, comets and stars Planets
and moons, red craters on Mars Springs of Saturn, Milky Ways, Bora Borealis and Solar Pays
I wanna go up there, but I'm down here High above into the stratosphere. Up there like an
astronaut, but I'm a kid here Hey, come dream with me I see black holes in suns, stars
and gases, light years away in molecular masses, sunspots, eclipses, satellites, moons in
the day, and suns at night. Duck, it's me, you shout. Hey, duck, here comes an asteroid.
Duck, here comes space debris. Duck. It's towards me Yeah, but I'm down here stratosphere
up there like an astronaut but I'm a kid here hey come dream with me.
Thats Steve Pullara And His Cool Beans Band. You're listening to The Children's Hour where
we're learning about exoplanets. You can find a learning guide and activities that go with
this episode at ChildrensHour.org. You're listening to The Children's Hour, Kids Public
Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is a production of The Children's Hour,
Incorperated. We're a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization supported by listeners just like you. You
can learn more about us at childrenshour.org. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
supports The Children's Hour. Experience the magic of New Mexico's many cultural traditions
at museums and historic sites statewide. More at nmculture.org slash traditions. Keep up
with all the news of The Children's Hour by signing up for our monthly newsletter at ChildrensHour.org.
Sail the
near and.
The year has become.
Into space walking soon. Floating along, singing this song
It's near and far.
Shatter.
The Planets Song is the BeatBuds right here on The Children's Hour. We're thinking and talking
about exoplanets today with Dr. Diana Dragomir. She's an exoplanetologist at the University
of New Mexico in the Department of Astronomy and Physics. You can find a learning guide
for this episode at childrenshour.org. Look for Exoplanets. Dr. Dragomir, before the break.
You were just talking about the most exciting exoplanet you found, and you're saying it's
really, really close to the star compared to our planets, even closer than Mercury. And
then you were talking about how this must be a very hot planet. But how can you possibly
tell the temperature from here? It's just simple math. OK, moderately simple math. So. If
we know how hot the star is and we know how close the planet is which we know from its
orbit So how often do we see a dimming of the star which we call a transit when the planet
passes in front of it? So we calculate the time between two dimmings and that must be
the year of that planet So now we know the year and we know how close it is to the
star and how bright the star is and we just calculate the temperature that way. Is Earth
an exoplanet? No. Earth is a planet because it's orbiting the Sun rather than another star.
Where does the word exoplanet come from? It comes from the word planet because these objects
are like the planets in the solar system. They're round and smaller than a star. So that's why
we call it planet. And the word exo means outside. So because these planets are outside the solar
system, We call them exo for outside planets. Is there another planet that is out of our
solar system that we can live on? Yeah, that's a good question. And in some ways, that's
what a lot of people who study exoplanets are trying to find out. So it's a good question
because the answer is we don't know yet. We're trying to find planets like the Earth,
but part of the problem is that it's difficult to know if a planet is exactly like the Earth
because we don't actually get pictures or photos of the planets. We get other kinds of information
and we have to kind of, it's like a puzzle. We have to figure out from that information
if the planet is the same size as the Earth, the same temperature as the Earth. Does it
have an atmosphere? So it's kind of an indirect way of doing it. And so the question is,
If we check enough of those answers, yes, can we say, okay, this planet we can live on?
The problem is that it's really difficult to answer some of those questions. So we're getting
there, but the answer is we don't know yet. So you know how when you find a planet
and if you find any life on it, would you consider that still as an exoplanet? Yes, because
it would still be a planet around another star. other than around a star other than our sun.
So all the planets in the solar system are planets and then any planet that is orbiting, moving
around any of the other stars in the sky is an exoplanet. Whether or not it has life on
it. Is there any aliens on the exoplanets? That's a great question. We don't know yet.
The way to find that out right now is to see if the atmospheres on those exoplanets look
like the atmosphere on Earth. So that's the next step. That's what we're looking for now.
And if we find something that has an atmosphere like Earth, then we can start thinking about
maybe there's aliens there. But we haven't gone there yet because it's really difficult
to see the atmospheres on exoplanets. What do you plan to do after you find an exoplanet
that's like Earth and suitable for life? What do you plan to do? Me personally. Or like people
who study exoplanets or like to move into the planet or something. I don't think we can move
there. It's really too far away. It would take hundreds or thousands of years. more like thousands
of years to get to even the closest planet to us. So what I will do is say yay and keep
looking, see if other planets also have life. Because then we would know that life is not
unique to Earth and you can have life happen on other planets as well, maybe even in different
conditions, maybe without oxygen or maybe in hotter or colder conditions. So to me, that's
really what's the most interesting part. I wish I could go to an exoplanet, but for now
I'd rather just take care of the one we have. Would you try to contact life on that planet?
If there is an intelligent life species, would you try sending a radio transmission? So first--
yeah, so that's-- I'm glad you asked the question that way because first we need to figure out
whether the life that we're detecting is just like microbes. or whether it is actually intelligent
advanced life like humans on earth. I guess we would probably send a signal either way
because you never know. Maybe microbes can be really intelligent too on another planet. So
yeah, we would send a signal but probably by the time they even get it, we would no longer
be around. And so it would have to be the next generation that waits for the response. So
it be a pretty slow. you know, exchange, like really, really long email exchange. But I
do think that that's a way to do it. What's the most recent exoplanet that you've seen and
also what's the most closest one? The closest exoplanet to us is the planet around a star
called Proxima Centauri C, which is pretty much the closest or second closest star to
us. So if we were going to go anywhere, that's where we would go. So Proxima Centauri is the
star. And then we name the planet with a little letter after the name of the star. So they
don't get their own names. They just get a little letter. And then the first question, the latest
exoplanet. Well, we're discovering exoplanets almost every day. But recently, there was
a really cool one. And I don't remember its name because it's always like a number.
But it was really cool because this time, remember how I said we don't really get photos of exoplanets?
In some very special cases, we can actually photograph like the star and the planets
orbiting it. So in this case, astronomers took a photo of the star and two planets orbiting
that star and those two planets and well, that whole system is special because that star is
very similar to our sun. So if those planets are, they're pretty big, but they might be
similar to Jupiter and Saturn in the solar system, just because the stars is like the sun.
So, I thought that that was pretty cool and kind of a big step forward for us. We're talking
with Dr. Diana Dragomir. She's an exoplanetologist at the University of New Mexico. And we still
have a few more questions for her, including how can we all jump on board and help in the
discovery of exoplanets? But first, this is Stevie Q right here on The Children's Hour.
The sun is a star, shinier than a new car And the planets orbit round it, just like they
had found it It's a gravitational thing, like a yo-yo on a string And all the planets say
they.
Mercury's number one, closest to the sun. Venus is number two, the hottest planet I
ever.
This is known before the red planet.
Number seven, that's gotta be close to heaven. Neptune's number eight, with a dark spot
that's really great. Pluto's number nine, the last one in the line. And all the planets
sing.
The sun goes up and down and the earth spins round and round. These are a few of the things
that...
We're talking with Dr. Diana Dragomir, an exoplanetologist from the University of New Mexico. Find our
learning guide for this episode at ChildrensHour.org. Look for exoplanets. Since light can only move
so fast, how do we know if an exoplanet is still there when we discover it? That's a great question.
We can actually do some calculations. Most exoplanets are there a long time, just like
planets around the sun, you know, will be around for another like four or five billion years.
So similarly, most exoplanets will also be around their stars for four to five billion years
or longer even. But some planets, some of those planets that are really close-- or exoplanets,
right,-- really close to their star, we think that in some cases they will actually spin
into the star and eventually fall in. And we can calculate that. And we haven't yet found
any planet that fell in that basically like it was there and then when we looked again
it wasn't there anymore. But we think we found some that maybe in a thousand years or 10,000
years from now, which is not that long in astronomy, might have fallen into their stars. So in
10,000 years, if we look again, we may not see that planet there anymore. And usually
we can predict those things. But yeah, most of them will be around for billions and billions
of years. There's nothing to disturb them. How do you become an exoplanet expert and be able
to learn about and find the exoplanet? To become an exoplanetologist or an astronomer. And then
by the time you become an astronomer, you might decide you want to study something else.
You have to go to college and you have to then go do a PhD after the first four years of
college. And then there's usually some training after that. And then after all of that,
usually about, --let's see, about 15,-- 12 to 15 years after you start college, you will
probably become a professor. But the fun thing is that during all of that time, okay, the
12 to 15 years, you can actually study exoplanets during all of that time. And once you become
a professor, you actually spend less time studying them because you now have to teach. So the
fun part is really going to college and the training part. How many exoplanetologists are
there? Probably like 2000, something like that. A lot. There's definitely room for more. I
had heard somewhere that exoplanetologists like yourself like to have help from just regular
old people like us to look at these many, many photographs of the universe and try to find
exoplanets. Is that true? Do you actually invite public participation? Yeah, I'm glad you asked
that because just today I was responding to an email from um someone who works at Boeing.
So, you know, designing airplanes, but for fun, he's helping us go through all of those
images and finding exoplanets. And he just sent me one today that looks really interesting.
And so, yeah, we don't have enough people to look at all of those stars, and so it'd
be really nice to have extra help. Are kids allowed to help, too? I think so. I think there's
some training to be done, but I don't see why not. That's so cool. Are you going to do it,
Maya? I think I want my whole family to know. Well, you will have many more exoplanetologists
thanks to kids hearing this and wanting to be part of this exciting research. Dr. Diana
Dragomir, thank you so much for being with us on The Children's Hour. Thank you so much for
having me on. It's been great.
the universe is so marvelous it's startle us pardon my soliloquy though my name is Barnabas
the scientist in charge of this world's search for alien life my telescopes pointed stars
barely in sight. I write down how they flash cause maybe it might be a code we can grasp
translating it right. My job is not a hassle Though my chance of success is low. Like a
raffle. So you know I was baffled. When the elegant time capsule popped through a black
hole. My heart's pumped mass of joy. As it dropped from the black void like an asteroid. Smiling
so wide, losing my mind. First contact, what's that? There's music inside, huh?
Yeah It took a day and a half to decode the strange math on a spacecraft. That's way fast.
I got a great staff working hard. It's like payback for years spent searching stars. The
message in the alien tongue was how to build a machine. In three days, it was done. I played
the spun. The words called it a record player. It was the key to decoding the second lega.
A message made a sound on a round disk. Interboundless depths of space, we found this gold record
from an ancient civilization from an alien called Carl Sagan. We learned how the language works.
It was music and words from a place called planet Earth We're skilled so great we couldn't
match it Till we figured out the records better but you scratch it.
Ya.
Turn it up!
You're listening to The Children's Hour, Kids Public Radio. We'll right back.
The Children's Hour is making weekly learning guides for every episode thanks to the support of
the Albuquerque Community Foundation. You can support this effort too. Go to childrenshour.org
and click donate and find our learning guides under our podcast menu. Support for The Children's
Hour provided by New Mexico Arts, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
and by the National Endowment for the Arts. Support for The Children's Hour provided by
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Children's Hour is an educational non-profit and you can donate your unwanted vehicle to
The Children's Hour. Learn more at ChildrensHour.org.
The Children's Hour shorts have dropped. We made short segments from our shows for educators
to make the most out of our learning guides and activities. Season 1 of The Children's
Hour shorts is at childrenshour.org. Look for the shorts! You're listening to The Children's
Hour and today we're learning about exoplanets. This is The Nirks.
Solar systems to explore and we should go different stars that have their own planets and their
own solar systems would you like to go with me and see if we can meet some? the closest
star to your Sun is Proxima Centauri. I'm an exoplanet that orbits it named Proxima Centauri
b In a triple star system with stars Alpha Centauri A and B. I'm in a habitable zone Which means
there could be life on 51 Pesos IV, also known as to medium. I was the first exoplanet found
orbiting a star much like your son. I'm about half the mass of Jupiter, but with a larger
diameter. My orbit takes only about four days because I'm very close to my star. Let's go
meet an exoplanet. They orbit other stars. Some are very similar, some very different
from ours. Strange and mystical worlds with wonders beyond imagination. Let's go find
some exoplanets and see if we can meet them. 16 be also known unofficially as Cap Do-Mean.
Like in Star Wars, a planet that orbits not one but two stars. My orbit is circumbinary.
That means I travel around both stars instead of only one. see two sunsets on me when the
day is done. My name is Methuselah, one of the oldest planets known yet. I'm about 12.7 billion
years old, almost three times older than your planet. I have a circum-binary orbit around
two burnt-out stars, a very old white dwarf star and a neutron star out star. The exoplanet
J1407b. Also known as Super Saturn, but Saturn's got nothing on me. I have one of the largest
North Ring systems found in the galaxy. About 200 times as large as Saturn's. I'm the new
Lord of the Ring. Let's go meet an exoplanet, they orbit other stars. Some are very similar,
some very different from ours. Strange and mystical worlds with wonders beyond imagination.
Let's go find some exoplanets and see if we can meet them. An exotic exoplanet, I'm hat
P7b. I have very different weather from yours, especially when it rains on me. Instead of
raindrops you would see, showers of sapphires and rubies. I have clouds of corundum that
could make those jewel scientists believe. I'm exoplanet wasp-twelve-me, and I'm a very
strange sight to see. I'm all stretched out like a football, because my star is pulling
on me. That's because I'm so close to my star, it takes just over one day to orbit. I'm one
I eat up light, I absorb it. Let's go meet an exoplanet, they orbit other stars
Some are very similar, some very different from ours. Strange and mystical worlds with wonders
beyond imagination Let's go find some exoplanets and see if we can meet them T-O-I-700-D and
I'm an exciting discovery! I'm in the habitable zone of my star, which means there could be
life on me!
similar they say I could have oceans and land and friends for you to meet someday when my
star expanded to a red giant it almost vaporized me a sub dwarf star now I'm much closer to
my star than other planets would dare to be I'm super fast a less than six hour orbit
I'm so close that it's fun hotter than HAT and Kepler-70b and I'm hotter than your sun.
My name is Trappist the Star, I have seven planets of my own. All unique and special,
including three in the habitable zone. Their current names are Trappist, B-C-D-E-F-G-H.
Together we have one of the most exciting solar systems discovered to this day. Nelly. You've
met some exoplanets, they orbit other stars In their very own solar systems far outside
of ours. Strange and mystical worlds with wonders beyond imagination. Keep looking at the stars
and maybe you'll discover one you. That was The Nirks from their musical released in 2020
called Meet the Exoplanets. And before the break, you heard Secret Agent 23 Skidoo.
You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone. We're learning about exoplanets
today on the show. These are planets that orbit stars outside our own solar system. It's
only very recently in astronomy that exoplanets have even been able to be detected, with the
first being spotted in the early 1990s by a team of scientists using images from the Hubble
telescope. which orbits around the Earth above the distortion of our atmosphere. Since then,
thanks to having telescopes on spaceships and other satellites that allow us to see clearly,
scientists have discovered nearly 6,300 confirmed exoplanets. But very recently, a group of scientists
think that they have discovered more than 10,000 new exoplanets. These astronomers are using
the images captured by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, also called TESS, which
is orbiting the Earth and operates four cameras. As our guest Dr. Diana Dragomir explained,
exoplanets are discovered by using photos of space over time. These photos will see when
a transit of a planet is happening across the face of its star. A transit is when the planet
passes between the star and our view of the star, so scientists will see the star slightly
obscured by the planet on its orbit around it.
NASA estimates that there are at least 100 billion planets in our Milky Way galaxy alone. And
of those, they suspect over 300 million of them could be habitable by humans. That means
we might be able to live on them. Even still, we need to take care of this planet that we
live on today. You can find out a lot about exoplanets and how you can join the hunt. by
going to ChildrensHour.org and find the Exoplanet episode. There we've posted lots of links,
including one to NASA's exoplanet site. It may not be realistic to go visit an exoplanet,
but it is realistic to find one. Maybe you'll join the search and find one yourself.
The learning guide and activities for this episode as well as links to NASA's exoplanet site are
at childrenshour.org. Just look for exoplanets.
This is Charity and the JAMband, right here on The Children's Hour.
I'm
Stardust we.
Congratulations, on just this moment.
Singing love songs to the.
We are shiny, we are huge, we are tiny, we are ancient, we are new.
We are.
Stardust, we are gold.
You've been listening to the Children's Hour show on exoplanets. You can find so much more
information at childrenshour.org. Look for exoplanets. I'm Katie Stone and we just have time for one
more. This is Michael Franti. We'll catch you next time. If I could see Earth from outer
space, all of the stars, through the human race, through all of the people and the streets
that I once knew. If I could see Earth from outer space. Through all of the stars to the
human race. No matter where I go I still come back to you.
So high, so high
see people in the cities, in the villages and squares. Selling in the marketplaces, dancing
everywhere. Would I see ladies in the beauty parlor doing hair? And teenage soldiers with
their guns up in the air. Would I see a hit list of the species that are gone? Or would
I be a witness to the world dropping bombs? Would I see the rainforests, Amazon down? Or
would the whole world sing one song? If I could see Earth from outer space, through all of
the stars, through the human race. We go from outer space, through all of the stars to the
image.
still come back to you
I've been
from outer space, through all of the stars to the human race, through all of the people and
the streets that I once knew. If I could see Earth from outer space, through all of the
stars to the human race, no matter where I go, I'll still come back to you.
I still come back to you
from outer space. Through all of the stars to the human race. Through all of the people and
the streets that I once knew. from outer space, all of the stars to the human race. No matter
where I go, I still come back to you.
The Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico non-profit.
You can find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at ChildrensHour.org.
Today's episode was written and produced by me, Katie Stone, with production help from
Sarah Gabrielli, McKenzie Graunke, and Thaniel Lentz. Our learning guides are written by
Amber Scheele. You can find this one at ChildrensHour.org. Look for Exoplanets
Find our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or go to our patreon.com slash The Children's Hour.
Or ask your smart speaker to play The Children's Hour podcast.
Our theme music was written by C.K. Barlow.
The Children's Hour is distributed by Native Voice One, the Native American radio network.
Thanks for listening to The Children's Hour, Kids Public Radio. © 2026 The Children’s Hour Inc. All Rights Reserved.