Podcast: Is the Earth Rare?
This month, our “Beer with BMSIS” podcast features a conversation with Penn State Professor Jim Kasting about the question, Is the Earth Rare?.
One of the pioneers of the field of planetary habitability, and author of the book How to Find a Habitable Planet, Dr. Kasting leads a discussion on some of the factors that have been suggested to be necessary for the development of life, complexity, and intelligence. Drawing from his own research, Kasting describes how many of the features that make Earth habitable may be more common than we think, and he gives his reasons for believing that such planets are probably common, rather than rare, in the galaxy. Although we cannot say for sure until such planets are discovered, Kasting also discusses the future space telescope missions and prospects for discovering other habitable Earth-like planets.