Welcome to my blog! My name is Sean Raymond. I am an American astrophysicist living in Bordeaux (France). I study the formation and evolution of planetary systems (see my research website here). In my research I ask questions like:
- Where did Earth’s water come from?
- Which extra-solar planetary systems are the best for life?
- Can moons have their own moons?
- Why does our Solar System appear to be different than planetary systems around other stars?
As a science fiction-loving astronomer, I enjoy blending imagination with science. On this blog I sometimes create my own planetary systems (see for example, the ultimate Solar System series). Sometimes I evaluate the scientific validity of well-known settings from movies or books (such as Pandora, Arrakis, and more). And sometimes I try to figure out what it would feel like on a different planet, for example by understanding the day-night cycles in multi-star systems or by getting a feel for the climates of exotic worlds. I also describe the ways that planets are destroyed, based on my own research (see here) and sometimes break out Dr Seuss-style astronomy poems. I also just published a book of astronomy poems.

I am available to help out with ideas for books, movies, games or any other projects set on other planets. My specialties are:
- World building: creating scientifically accurate settings for storytelling
- Understanding what it would feel like to live on other (custom-built) worlds. How would the stars move? What would the weather be like?
- Testing the scientific validity of already-created settings.
Please contact me if you are interested in working with me. You can email me directly at rayray(dot)sean(at)gmail(dot)com.
Additional resources
- Amazon page of my new book, Black Holes, Stars, Earth and Mars: Astronomy poems for all ages
- Recordings of a couple of talks I’ve given: here is one for the general public and here is one for a somewhat technical audience.
- The MOJO videos on planet formation.
- My research website, which includes a list of my scientific publications and a CV
- Feel free to follow me on twitter (@sraymond_astro).
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