Venus is a strange place for life. However, I do not rule it out.

However, not everyone is satisfied?

“We said from the start: This is not yet evidence of life. However, the result immediately became controversial. Our colleagues and friends were outraged. They published new analyzes of our measurement data in which no phosphine signal was seen. Others found the signal, but concluded it was It’s not phosphine. I still stand by my team. It takes a long time to refute all the criticism.”

Seager is used to walking in front of the troops. Thirty years ago, as a PhD student, she was one of the first in the world to work with exoplanets that, as seen from Earth, are moving in front of their star. This results in a periodic dip in starlight from which you can infer the planet’s presence. Also, if that planet has an atmosphere, some starlight can leak through and astronomers on Earth can tell which particles are in that atmosphere.

It was all theory at the time. “I once went to apply for a job with an older, supposedly wiser professor. ‘We will not or hardly notice what you suggest,’ he said. Today we have observed such planets a thousand times. That took a while. Young people started working with exoplanets. I had to The old foundation is finally to move forward.”

She also believes that this applies to extraterrestrial life. “I think with Venus I’m on the crazy side of splitting up again now,” she says. “Sometimes I use ChatGPT when I’m not sure how to say something. In that case, I would ask, ‘ChatGPT, how can I say this so well? on the outer planets someday. We may not believe it, but it will be enough to keep searching. For the money for another telescope. ”

Your book will be published in 2021 The smallest lights in the universe. While most people on your site write a book about their own research, I wrote a personal memoir about how you dealt with the loss of your first husband. Why?

“Becoming a widow is like visiting another planet. Even a completely different universe. Then I met a group of women, all widows, and they helped me through it. They’re still in my life. I felt crazy and happy and funny and tragic, all magnified to extreme proportions by that loss. And I kept I tell them, This is crazy, someone should write a book about this.”

Soon after losing your husband, you compare yourself to an exoplanet where it is always dark and rains molten iron. How personal is the universe to you?

“As I was going through that period, I was also working, looking for planets. Suddenly my research in extraterrestrial space mirrored my research in inner space. I decided to explain that more in the book.

“I’ve always loved space. Sometimes when I look out on a dark night I feel lonely and scared. Sometimes there’s something very comforting about it. As a kid, I had a skylight and watched the stars before I fell asleep. Earth is one spot in a huge world. I look up every Night. Sometimes it only takes a split second, but the thought of our place in the universe is always on my mind.”

In the book, you write casually that you have been told you have Asperger’s Syndrome. What role does this play in your work and life?

“It helped me understand how people interact with me. Why interviewing like this is so hard work. It’s almost like learning to speak another language. I often have to consciously act differently, otherwise people will think I’m too blunt and cold. By my nature, I have no place to talk.” The little one, being so fun and cute I need some kind of ChatGPT in my mind to help me with that.

“My current husband is the funniest person ever, so charming. He thought I was mean and tough at first. Now he can joke because he understands.”

For many people, especially when they are diagnosed at a young age, there is a kind of shame associated with it. Because I wasn’t diagnosed until much later, I never felt like it. I don’t want anyone’s pity. And I want to help young people overcome their shame.

“My autism is kind of a superpower. I’m happy with it. It gives me focus and helped me become a great scientist. I can easily ignore any distraction. I’m not very interested in other people’s opinions. That’s also very important in science. Because if you’re engaged in what he thinks others about you, you would never dare to take a risk.”