David Kipping

David Kipping

Astronomer

Man with short dark hair wearing a black blazer and gray shirt against a light background.

David Kipping is an Associate Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University and the founding director of the Cool Worlds Laboratory, where he leads groundbreaking research on exoplanets, exomoons, and the search for extraterrestrial life. As a pioneer in the detection of moons around planets outside our solar system, his work has been published in prestigious scientific journals and has significantly advanced our understanding of distant planetary systems. Kipping employs sophisticated statistical methods to analyze data from NASA's Kepler and TESS missions, extracting subtle signals that reveal the properties of these distant worlds. Beyond academia, he created and hosts the popular Cool Worlds YouTube channel, which has attracted over 750,000 subscribers through its accessible explorations of cosmic frontiers and speculative astronomy. After receiving his PhD from University College London and holding positions at Harvard University, Kipping has established himself as a respected researcher who effectively bridges rigorous scientific investigation with compelling public science communication.

25 min
Are we blinded by our desire to find extraterrestrial life?
“Deep down the natural endpoint of this whole goal of looking for planets is to answer the question: are we alone?”
A radio telescope points at the night sky, where stars are arranged in the shape of a large question mark.
13 min
The Fermi Paradox has a terrifying answer: The Dark Forest
"We've sent out one or two little messages, but we certainly aren't investing billions of dollars shouting out into the cosmos saying, "Hey, we are here. Come say hi.""
A man in a blazer holds up a yellow card with black line drawings and gestures with his other hand against a plain background.
9 min
The question nobody’s asking about space colonization
"There is interesting ethical questions about how we should actually conduct ourselves in [a space colonization] exploration phase."
Illustration of three planets orbiting a star, with colored bands indicating the habitable zone; text reads "FINDING LIFE Habital Zone.
19 min
How close are we to finding alien life?
"There's a long history of people claiming planets which look Earth-like, Earth 2.0, Earth twins."
A person in a suit sits on a chair against a cosmic background with galaxies and stars.
2 min
Searching for aliens and Earth 2.0 | David Kipping: Full Interview
"Many astronomers are really driven by the search for Earth twins because I think deep down the natural endpoint of this whole goal of looking for planets is to answer the question, are we alone?"