Movie Review: The Hunt For Planet B Documentary Film By Nathaniel Kahn. Is There Another Earth?

Genre: Documentary

Directed By: Nathaniel Kahn

Studio: Crazy Boat Pictures

Runtime: 93 minutes

Release Date: World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival March 18, 2021

Reviewer’s Rating: 4 of 5 ★★★★★

The Hunt For Planet B is an absolutely fascinating and informative documentary. It’s delightful in so many ways with many of the scientists on this project being women, and some are women of color. It brings to light more in-depth information about how NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) plays an integral part in the further exploration of the universe in the hopes of finding viable planets to sustain life. This documentary is not only filled with fascinating science but there are some a wonderful personal stories woven in revealing a more relatable side to these dedicated scientists.

NASA James Webb Space Telescope - The Hunt For Planet B — 1. The Webb Space Telescope near completion in a scene from The Hunt for Planet B, directed by Nathaniel Kahn. Image courtesy of ©Crazy Boat Pictures.

What intrigues me most about this documentary, and is a key element for this conversation, is the varying opinions of those on the project and those in-directly related to it. Should we search for another Earth? Is there another planet that could sustain life as we know it? Or should we simply take care of the planet we currently inhabit to make it more sustainable for our grandchildren and beyond?

Director Nathaniel Kahn stated, “The Webb Telescope (which NASA is undertaking in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency) is the most complex space telescope ever built. Representing the collective endeavor of thousands of people from 14 countries, it will be 100 times more powerful than the Hubble and promises to reveal secrets about the universe that will transform our sense of ourselves and our place in the cosmos.”

I’ve always been fascinated with space, space exploration, and celestial things. I’m a self-proclaimed space geek in the fact that I love to collect photos of space, buy items that feature stars, star-shapes, planets, etc. And of course, aliens. I’ve yet to visit Roswell, NM but that’s not what this documentary is about.

The Hunt For Planet B provides a slew of information, from how scientists like Sara Seager are talking to Congress to help continue funding space exploration, to the discovery of the “Trappist-1 system” that has a planet in its solar system that could possibly be a viable option for possible future colonization. I appreciate the differing of opinions, the distinction of science versus religion.

Sara Seger - MIT - The Hunt For Planet B — Sara Seager, a planetary expert and physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in a scene from The Hunt for Planet B, directed by Nathaniel Kahn. Image courtesy of ©Crazy Boat Pictures.

I think Jill Tarter at SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) said it best when asked if she thinks there is life out in the universe, “…whatever I think about life beyond Earth doesn’t matter a bit. For millennia, we asked the priests, philosophers, whoever we thought was wise, what we should believe. Well, we can now change that verb into the verb ‘explore;’ anything else is religion and we’re not doing religion here; we’re doing science.”

Fun fact: If you’re not familiar with Tarter, you may be familiar with Jodie Foster who played a character based on Tarter in the movie Contact (1997) (co-starring Matthew McConaughey).

Jill Tarter - SETI Institute - The Hunt For Planet B — Jill Tarter, an astronomer at the SETI Institute, in a scene from The Hunt for Planet B, directed by Nathaniel Kahn. –Image courtesy of ©Crazy Boat Pictures.

Is there direct correlation of global warming and the current deterioration of Earth that may be linked to the increase in wildfires globally, extreme weather patterns, and an increase in illness (note that are in a global pandemic)?

There is one part of the film that highlights the discoveries of Italian astronomer Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de’ Galilei (better known simply as Galileo). He was essentially kept under house arrest for the better part of a decade because his observations were thought to be too fantastic.

Along with the science and wonderment of discovery, there is the political side of funding these space explorations. I found the scenes with Congress quite interesting. For the JWST to be launched, it has to go through rigorous testing to ensure it deploys as it should to function in space. It sounds like Congress has had a difficult time with the setbacks. Better to have the minor issues happen now on Earth where they can be resolved rather than send a possibly broken satellite into orbit and have it tear apart.

A short list of the amazing scientists featured in The Hunt For Planet B:

Sara Seager, Astrophysicist & Professor of Physics and Planetary Science, M.I.T.
Amy Lo, Deputy Director for Vehicle Engineering on JWST at Northrop Grumman
Jill Tarter, Emeritus Chair and Astronomer, SETI
Maggie Turnbull, Astrobiologist, SETI
Matt Mountain, Director Emeritus, Space Telescope Science Institute, Telescope Scientist, JWST
Natasha Batalha, Astrobiologist, Astrophysics, NASA Ames
Nick Lane, Biochemist & Professor of Evolutionary Biochemistry, University College London

If you’re at all curious about space exploration, NASA, SETI, and the universe, I highly recommend watching this documentary.

THE HUNT FOR PLANET B – Clip from the documentary

For more on THE HUNT FOR PLANET B, go to www.thehuntforplanetb.com

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.