Exploring Exoplanet Demographics with Kepler, TESS, and Beyond
When
Where
Dr. Michelle Kunimoto
Postdoctoral Associate, MIT Kavli Institute
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Exoplanet surveys have been spectacularly successful in identifying thousands of planets with breathtaking diversity. These discoveries help place the Solar System in context and inform our understanding of how planets form and evolve. Finding large numbers of planets also enables statistical studies of the exoplanet population, through which we can uncover which types of planets are more common than others and find correlations between planet abundance and the properties of stars. Exoplanet demographic studies are key for constraining planet formation and evolution theories. I will highlight contributions to the field of demographics, from large and small planet populations with Kepler and its implications for the search for other Earths, to the exciting potential of TESS to significantly expand our understanding of planet populations around more diverse stellar samples than were possible before. Finally, I will identify a set of important open questions that remain to be answered and outline future goals to push the field of demographics to new frontiers.
Learn more about Dr. Kunimoto.