Extrasolar planetary systems-
how do they form?

How the planets of our own Solar System formed has perplexed scientists for centuries. Part of the difficulty has been that we had only one example to test our theories against. The discovery of planets orbiting other stars – exoplanets – has revolutionized the field. We now have a range of planetary systems that theorists can attempt to reproduce with simulations. In addition, evidence from star-forming regions is telling us when in a star’s history the planets surrounding them form. This talk will discuss the evidence which has emerged, and the ideas which answer some of our questions.

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About Tim Naylor

Tim Naylor is an observational astrophysicist working on star and planet formation at the University of Exeter, where he is the Norman Lockyer Professor of Astrophysics. He was the founder of the Exeter Astrophysics group, a leading group in the area of star and planet formation. He has since become Head of Physics at Exeter. Born in Sheffield, Tim’s introduction to astronomy was amateur observing in very light-polluted skies. He obtained degrees in physics and astrophysics from Oxford before moving to work for the European Space Agency in Madrid and then as a post-doctoral researcher in Cambridge. He was at Keele University before moving to Exeter in 2000.

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