"Alien Solar Systems - Taking the Galactic Planetary Census"
In the past decade, over two hundred planets have been discovered in orbit around nearby stars. The current planetary census includes bizarre "hot Jupiters", massive "Eccentric Giants", as well as objects that closely resemble the more familiar Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune in our own solar system. Within 5 years, we will likely know of planets with masses as low as one Earth mass. In this lecture, I'll give an accessible overview of the most exciting developments in this fast-moving field, and I will point the way toward the even more astonishing discoveries that are likely soon to come. |