Exoplanets and planet formation
At the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy we study young stars and planet formation from protoplanetary discs. We also investigate fully formed planets around more mature stars. Eventually we hope to address the key question of how many places in the universe might harbour life
As high-resolution and ultra-high contrast techniques evolve, the power of these studies increases greatly. Most recently, with the study of exoplanetary atmospheres we have greatly enhanced what we can learn about other potentially habitable planetary systems. As we gain more observations we can improve our theoretical models. We work in close collaboration with de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and with SRON in the 'Are we Alone?' project.
Keywords
Exoplanets, young stars, planet formation, protoplanetary discs, atmospheres, Earth-like planets
Facilities
Now: VLT, HST, WHT, large-scale computing
Future: ELT, JWST
Leading Scientists