Jena 2013 – scientific programme

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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik

EP 3: Astrophysik/Astrobiologie

EP 3.3: Invited Talk

Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 14:30–15:00, HS 9

Exoplanetary Systems — •Artie Hatzes — Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg

We are in the "Golden Era" of Exoplanet studies. To date almost 900 exoplanets have been discovered around other stars and over 120 of these are in multiple systems. Astronomers have also started to characterize these worlds in terms of their mass, radius, density, and surface temperature. Atmospheric features in exoplanets have also been detected. At the forefront of these characterization studies are CoRoT and Kepler, the first space telescopes devoted to the finding exoplanets via the transit method. Together these two space missions have discovered over 100 transiting exoplanets as well as thousands of more candidates that await confirmation. I will review the current status of our knowledge on exoplanetary systems focusing on the exciting results from the CoRoT and Kepler space missions. I will also discuss the prospects of finding the "Holy Grail" of exoplanets: terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of other stars.