Robust Emergence of Diverse Planetary Systems and the Prospects of Life around Other Stars

General interest seminar

Robust Emergence of Diverse Planetary Systems and the Prospects of Life around Other Stars

  • Event time: 5:30pm
  • Event date: 12th May 2016
  • Speaker: (University of California in Santa Cruz)
  • Location: Lecture Theatre A,

Event details

Planetary astrophysics is the most rapidly advancing field in astronomy today. The planetary census suggests that planets, especially those similar to the Earth, abound around nearby stars. The surveys discovering exoplanets and characterizing protostellar disks have revitalized intense efforts to understand how planetary systems form and evolve, including our own Solar System. We can now extrapolate the ubiquity of habitable planets and the possibility of finding tell-tale signs of life on them. Emerging comparative planetology shows that the planets we see today depend both on the environments in which they formed, and on their subsequent complex dynamical interactions.

Professor Lin will describe some recent paradigm shifts in the theory of planet formation, especially on the role of planet migration in their evolving natal disks, their interaction with each other and with their host stars, and their potential implications for the origin and proliferation of life elsewhere in the Universe.

Registration

This event is free to attend, but please register: Eventbrite page 

This is a Carnegie Public Lecture.  The material presented will be at a general interest level, and is open to students, staff and the general public.

Further information

About General interest seminars

Our General Interest Seminars are an opportunity for distinguished speakers to present new research in physics and related areas. The material presented is suitable for undergraduate level upwards and all members of the School are welcome to attend..

Find out more about General interest seminars.