Free seminar: the search for planets beyond our solar system

Come along to new seminar Exoplanets: The search for planets beyond our solar system co-organised by the Institute of Physics and the Royal Astronomical Society.

The existence of worlds other than our own has always captivated human interest, a curiosity that has grown over the past two decades since the discovery of planets outside our solar system. Using both ground-based telescopes and space missions over 500 of these worlds – exoplanets – have now been identified and hundreds more candidate planets are awaiting confirmation.

Advances in technology and detection methods have not only increased the frequency of exoplanet detections, but also enabled scientists to infer details about their characteristics including their atmospheric composition, pressure and temperature. This seminar will explore the various direct and indirect methods that have enabled exoplanet discovery, such as transit observations that detect the reduction in a star’s brightness as an exoplanet passes in front. Investigation of other planetary systems provides insights into their formation and evolution, as well as what the future may hold for
our own solar system.

The seminar will also discuss observations of exoplanets within the habitable or “Goldilocks” zone, defi ned as the distance from a star at which water can exist in a liquid state. Exoplanets within this zone are of increasing interest as they are the most likely candidates for harbouring life outside of our solar system.

Exoplanets: The search for planets beyond our solar system
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Tea and coffee at 5.00 p.m.

Institute of Physics
76 Portland Place
London W1B 1NT

The seminar will commence at 5.30 p.m. and will be followed by refreshments at 7.30 p.m.

Speakers: Prof. Hugh Jones (University of Hertfordshire), Dr Suzanne Aigrain (University of Oxford), Dr Giovanna Tinetti (University College London)
Chair: Prof. Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell (President, the Institute of Physics)

Please confi rm your attendance at the earliest possible opportunity by e-mailing Sophie Robinson at the IOP, sophie.robinson@iop.org.
Please note that places at the seminar are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.