Speaker
Description
Thousands of planets orbiting stars other than our own are being discovered. Since their discovery in the 1990s this field of astronomy and planetary science has exploded, being today one of the most exciting and dynamic. Even within the limits of our current observational capabilities, studies of extrasolar planets have provided a unique contribution to improving our view of the place that the Solar System and the Earth occupy in the galactic context.
The arrival of more performing and dedicated facilities from space and the ground in the coming decade, will provide an unprecedented opportunity to study these worlds. In this talk, I will review highlights and pitfalls of our current knowledge of this topic and discuss the scientific and technical steps to be taken in this fascinating journey of remote exploration of the planets in our Galaxy.
