The Exoplanet Revolution: Towards Detecting and Characterizing Habitable Worlds

Exoplanets

Since the discovery of the first planet outside our solar system in the early 1990s, research into exoplanets has surged explosively. We now know of over 5,600 exoplanets, with each star in the night sky averaging at least one planet. Recent discoveries reveal that many rocky planets exist around nearby low-mass stars, the most common type in our galaxy. Is it just a matter of time before we find Earth 2.0?

Lecture

This lecture will explore the latest breakthroughs in exoplanet science. We will highlight groundbreaking research conducted here at the University of Amsterdam, including recent results from specialized spectrographs such as the Habitable-zone Planet Finder and NEID. These instruments primarily aim to detect and characterise planets in the habitable zone—the region around a star where liquid water could exist on the planet's surface. Finally, we will look to the future, envisioning the exciting scientific insights that future space missions and extremely large telescopes may provide about planets, life, and our place in the universe.