To infinity and Beyond !

Our Solar System formed as a result of the gravitational collapse of a cloud of gas and dust. It contains planets that have changed significantly since their formation, as well as a multitude of small objects, asteroids, and comets. The latter have undergone very little evolution and are witnesses to the early stages of our solar system. But where do our samples come from? What analyses are they subjected to? How does this inform us about their history and our solar system? This presentation will also be an opportunity to discuss the recent sample return missions of Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-Rex.

In less than 3 decades, we have passed from a handful of planets known in our solar neighborhood to thousands in our galactic proximity. We have collected data on the atmospheres of hundreds of them, a number that is to increase rapidly in the coming years. Some of these ‘atmospheres’ are as exotic as dust clouds that expand and contract at seemingly random times. For others, we can at best speculate whether they are made of hydrogen, as Jupiter, or are full of steam! We’ll go through what is currently known about exoplanets and the questions that they’re prompting in the scientific community.