The discovery of a new class of planets around other stars will be announced for the first time this afternoon. We have now discovered 135 planets orbiting other stars, giving us planetary systems to compare with our own Solar System. The comparisons are beginning to show whether our Earth and habitable planets are common or rare in the Milky Way Galaxy. Back on Earth, diverse and harsh environments are found to be abundant with life. Searches for life elsewhere, both microbial and intelligent, are being shaped by the environments on newly discovered planetary systems and their suitability for life.

Biography of Geoff  Marcy:
http://astro.berkeley.edu/~gmarcy/cv.html
Speaker URL