Why Are Exoplanetary Systems Unlike the Solar System?

About this event

Lecture by Professor Daniel Jontof-Hutter, Professor at University of the Pacific NASA's Kepler mission discovered over 4,400 transiting planets around other stars, including over 700 systems with multiple planets. This sample of exoplanet systems enables us to study planetary systems as a population, and test planet formation theory. The results are that our Solar System has a relatively rare configuration, and we don't know why. In this talk, we will explore the expectations of planet formation theory, and the constraints that are now available form observations, as we work toward the goal of understanding how common Earth-like worlds are and finding such cosmic neighbors. About Our Speaker Daniel Jontof-Hutter is an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. He studies planetary dynamics, what we can learn about planetary systems from their motion. His research goals include pushing the characterization of low-mass exoplanets toward the terrestrial regime, using big data and dynamical simulations. Meeting Logistics This is a hybrid meeting taking place in person at the Los Altos Library and over Zoom. If attending in person: Find us in the Orchard Room at the Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Rd, Los Altos, California. https://sccld.org/locations/losaltos/ If attending over Zoom: Those who RSVP here will be able to see the Zoom link about a week before the talk.