| The exoplanet revolution |
| Didier Queloz |
| University of Geneva, Switzerland |
| Exoplanets identified over the last 25 years range from large planets like Jupiter to smaller denser objects like the Earth. The diversity and the prolific amount of planets discovered revolutionised our understanding about the nature and the formation history of planets, opening up a surprising new perspective on the possible rarity of planetary systems similar to our own. It has also raised exciting prospects about the potential of probing planet atmosphere for traces of life activity. This talk will present an outlook of this landscape, discussing the implications of these recent findings. New insights about the origins of life will be presented in the light of recent experiments about a possible origin of pre-biotic chemical building blocks, as well as a possible long-range pathway for detecting Earth-like systems amenable for remote study of life. |