Astronomy Talk: Where We Came From — How Solar Systems Form

Where We Came From — How Solar Systems Form

How common are Earths? Unknown just a generation ago, more than 2,000 planets have been discovered orbiting other stars in our galaxy and Hawaii’s own Keck Observatory has been at the forefront of this incredibly exciting field. We have invited Professor Greg Laughlin, an expert on planet formation and dynamics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to share an up-to-the-minute picture of what we know about these other worlds, and to explain how the these new discoveries from Manuakea help humankind understand how our own solar system formed.

Laughlin will also share how the folks at Keck Observatory are helping search for new objects like Planet 9 in the dim outer realms of our own solar system.