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2005 David Elder Lecture

13 June 2005, 6 pm, JA3.25

The 2005 David Elder lecture will be held on 13 June 2005 at 6pm in lecture theatre K325 in the John Anderson building by Keith Horne of the University of St. Andrews. The John Anderson building houses the Department of Physics at the University of Strathclyde and is at 107 Rottenrow East in Glasgow.

The Quest for extrasolar planets

For 10 years now, astronomers have been discovering planets that orbit other stars beyond our solar system. With roughly 150 extra-solar planets now known, we are beginning to understand how planetary systems both similar to ours and radically different have come into being. Today's planet detection methods are sensitive only to large gas giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn, but new techniques and upcoming space missions are expected to reveal the smaller rocky Earth-like planets, if they are there, and to show which of these, if any, have oceans of liquid water and oxygen-rich atmospheres indicating the presence of life. Thus we are close to knowing if life is common beyond the solar system, or very rare.

• History of the David Elder lectures
• Keith Horne's Home Page