Monthly Meeting: Chemical Compositions of Extrasolar Planets

Chemical Compositions of Extrasolar Planets

The May monthly meeting will comprise of a talk by Dr Nikku Madhusudhan, from the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge.

In particular, the talk will present some of the latest constraints on atmospheric chemical compositions of exoplanets, made possible by state-of-the-art high-precision observations, and their implications for atmospheric processes, interior compositions, and formation conditions of exoplanets.

Abstract:

“Exoplanetary discoveries in the past two decades have unveiled an astonishing diversity in the physical characteristics of exoplanetary systems, including their orbital properties, masses, radii, equilibrium temperatures, and stellar hosts. Exoplanets known today range from gas-giants to nearly Earth-size planets, and some even in the habitable zones of their host stars. Recent advances in exoplanet observations and theoretical methods are now leading to unprecedented constraints on the physicochemical properties of exoplanetary atmospheres, interiors, and their formation conditions.”