Watch: Mar.17 Dr. Daniel Koll: Beyond the habitable zone -- Hot rocky exoplanets in the JWST era
Speaker: Daniel Koll
(Peking University)
Mar.17, 2022
3 pm GMT+8
Over the last 10 years astronomers have discovered more than 800 rocky exoplanets, that is, planets roughly the size of Earth. The resulting statistics indicate every star hosts ~1 or more of these worlds -- so, our galaxy is filled with them. Just as astonishing, we know little else about these planets. The data we currently have only constrain the planetary radius, and occasionally the bulk mass, of most rocky exoplanets. For comparison, that is like talking about the Solar System if all we knew about Mercury versus Venus versus Earth is how big they were. In this talk I will review what is currently known (and not known) about rocky exoplanets. There are still many fundamental questions about these worlds, perhaps the most important one being whether most rocky exoplanets even have an atmosphere. Luckily, thanks to a number of recent telescope developments, we should be able to settle the question in the next 1-2 years.
About Dr. Daniel Koll
Daniel Koll is an assistant professor in Peking University's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. His research focuses on planetary atmospheres and climates, in particular the atmospheres of rocky exoplanets. Much of his recent work aims at potential Venus- and Mercury-analogs around other stars. By studying these hot worlds we begin to unravel what the average rocky planet in our galaxy is like. The lessons we draw from these worlds will also be key for studying cooler, potentially habitable, exoplanets.
