David Kipping
David Kipping is a Columbia University astronomer and the creator of Cool Worlds, where he explores exoplanets, exomoons and the search for life beyond Earth.
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Latest
David’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
YouTube
YouTube
YouTubeOverview
- From
- Warwickshire, United Kingdom
- Work
- Astronomer, researcher and science communicator
- Education
- Natural Sciences at Cambridge; PhD at University College London
- Channel launch
- Cool Worlds, 2016
- Breakout
- Artificial Gravity, 2019
Mini bio
An early fascination.
Growing up in Warwickshire, David pored over a Solar System atlas his parents gave him and took a small telescope outside to look for planets. He initially leaned toward particle physics at Cambridge, but a lecture on exoplanets helped steer him toward a PhD at University College London.
From research to YouTube.
After postdoctoral work at Harvard, he joined Columbia in 2015 and launched Cool Worlds in 2016. His first video introduced the discovery of Kepler-167e. The channel’s initial target was 400 subscribers, which it reached in about two days.
Finding his style.
David identifies his 2019 Artificial Gravity video as a turning point after the channel’s early growth stalled. Its success helped establish his mini-documentary style, combining physics with the large questions that draw people to space.
The science behind the stories.
At Columbia, David leads the Cool Worlds Lab. His research spans planets and moons beyond our Solar System, their stars and the statistical methods used to understand them. His podcast gives those questions room to unfold in conversations with scientists and other guests.
Creditschronological, newest first
Research
Online series and videos
- 2023Cool Worlds PodcastHost
- 2022Why Going Faster-Than-Light Leads to Time ParadoxesPresenter, Cool Worlds
- 2021How Big Is The Universe?Presenter, Cool Worlds
- 2019Artificial GravityPresenter, Cool Worlds
Awards
Quotes
Through science, we learn the rules of this grand game. Through loopholes, we touch the stars.David Kipping, Cool Worlds Lab team page
The line appears with his principal investigator profile on the lab’s official site.
Trivia
- Cool Worlds has a double meaning: the lab studies planets and moons with cool temperatures, and its name riffs on the Cool Star Lab.
- As a child, he made martial arts movies in his backyard.
- He recalls imagining the Starship Enterprise beaming him up while he lay in the yard.
Find David
Follow David’s videos, research and conversations.
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