We've been able to suss out what the atmospheres are like on a handful of impossibly far away exoplanets, but it's not an easy task. We've only just seen the atmosphere of anything close to Earth's size. But when the James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2018, it'll give us many more glimpses, and possibly even find one that life could survive on.

But these planets are far away and tiny, Even their parent stars are barely more than dots in the sky. How can we find out what their atmospheres are made of? MinutePhysics put together this video, which explains it in a little under three minutes. The short of it is: We look for gasses when it passes in front of its star. But the long story is obviously a bit more complex, so sit back, relax, and soak it in in the time it takes you to grab a mug, get a cup of coffee, and take a seat. It's time to learn how science is made.

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