May 6th, 2017
with Dr. Erik Petigura, a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech
Exoplanets orbit stars other than our Sun. At first, the study of these objects focused upon individual discoveries. But, thanks in large part to the many identifications made by NASA’s Kepler Mission, the direction of exoplanet research has changed. We now know, Dr. Petigura argues, that planets are common and that nature produces a rich diversity of planetary compositions and orbital architectures.” In this talk Dr. Petigura will present an overview of exoplanet demographics and will describe how this developing field of study may illuminate our understanding of the Earth’s history and the processes that led to development of life.
