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Clara Sousa-Silva, assistant professor of physics at Bard College, was interviewed in the New York Times about an article she coauthored in the Science journal. The article explains how the detection of the molecule phosphine in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf—a class of celestial objects too large to be considered a gas giant planet but not massive enough to fuse hydrogen like a star—may help astronomers in their search for life elsewhere in the Milky Way. On Earth, phosphine is a molecule that is produced by living things, and because life as we know it is unsustainable on a brown dwarf, the finding can help refine our understanding of how the molecule could be produced under other circumstances. Detecting the phosphine molecule in places that cannot sustain life “will be a critical piece of the puzzle for figuring out what business phosphine has anywhere else, including in a potentially habitable environment,” Sousa-Silva told the New York Times.

The Bard Physics Program is dedicated to helping students at all levels gain a better understanding of the universe and how it works.