The 45 Best Places to Look for Alien Life

About this episode

The episode discusses the 45 Earth-like worlds identified as promising locations for searching for signs of life beyond Earth.

Where should we actually be looking for life beyond Earth? Astronomers have identified 45 Earth-like worlds that could be among the most promising places to search for biosignatures—chemical signs of life in distant atmospheres. Inspired by the idea of a real-life "Project Hail Mary," this research helps narrow the search for habitable planets and guides future telescopes toward the most compelling targets. Join SETI Institute planetary astronomer Dr. Franck Marchis and guests Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger and Abigail Bohl from Cornell University as they explore: - How scientists define an "Earth-like" world - What makes a planet a strong candidate for life - How these 45 planets were selected - What telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope, can (and can't) detect - What this means for the future of SETI and exoplanet exploration Are we closer than ever to finding life—or just getting better at knowing where to look? Press release: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/best-places-look-alien-life-scientists-identify-45-earth-worlds Paper: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/547/3/stag028/8526432 (Recorded live 17 April 2026.)

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Franck Marchis

Guests: Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger, Abigail Bohl

Topics covered

• search for alien life
• Earth-like worlds
• biosignatures
• habitable planets
• exoplanet exploration
• telescopes

Keywords

• alien life
• Earth-like planets
• biosignatures
• SETI
• exoplanets
• James Webb Space Telescope
• astronomy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SETI Institute, Cornell University

Products: James Webb Space Telescope

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