29 Oct

From dust to giants: Planet formation in the Solar System and abroad

Date:

Thu:
2:15 pm - 4:00 pm

29 October 2026

Location:

Room C307 & via zoom Theresienstr. 41C 80333, Munich

Abstract

In this lecture I will focus on the astrophysical view of planet formation as it pertains to the development of the known exoplanet population as well as our own Solar system. Some attention will be placed on the development of dust in the interstellar medium, how it was cooked and served to the birth place of stars (and by extension planets), and what we know about the chemical compositions of this planet-forming materiel. I will then outline the relevant physics for planet formation, concentrating mostly on the small to medium sized planets - the ones that will likely depend most strongly to geological processes.

Artist’s representation of a stellar system hosting a hot Jupiter.

Credit: ESO image archive

Speaker

© A. Cridland

Dr. Alexander Cridland

Staff Scientist
Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics of Extrasolar Planets
University Observatory (USM), LMU Munich

Research Interests

Planet formation | Astrochemistry | Giant Planet Atmospheres

List of publications