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Planetary research: from the Earth to distant worlds
29 Sept 2026
The Munich Center for Geoastronomy combines geosciences and astrophysics to investigate planetary development – from the Earth to distant exoplanets.
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How varied are the planets of distant star systems? And to what extent can geological and physical processes on Earth and other planets in our solar system help us better understand these exoplanets?
To get to the bottom of such questions, researchers from astrophysics and geosciences are pooling their expertise in the new Munich Center for Geoastronomy. “Our goal is to combine knowledge from astrophysics and the geosciences to obtain a deeper understanding of the planets in our solar system and beyond,” says Kevin Heng, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics of Extrasolar Planets and co-director of the center alongside Yan Lavallée, Professor of Magmatic Petrology and Volcanology. “It is very clear, at this point, that physics alone will not allow us to achieve a deeper understanding of exoplanets. To move forward, knowledge from the geosciences needs to be incorporated into our thinking.”
Theoretical models and lab experiments complement each other
The Earth and our solar system are important points of comparison: Which processes that we know from here also shape distant worlds. Moreover, how varied can planets be? An example of an area where the research of Heng and Lavallée is complementary is the effect of volcanic activity on exoplanets. As a theoretical astrophysicist, Heng investigates the atmospheres of exoplanets and interprets observations with the help of models. Meanwhile, Lavallée brings his geoscientific expertise in magmas and volcanic gases and is able to experimentally investigate such processes in the laboratory. “An approach that is based solely on theory and computers is clearly insufficient,” says Heng. “It needs to be scrutinized and verified by lab experiments.” Conversely, observations of distant planets can raise new questions for the geosciences.
The new center plans to foster permanent scientific exchange between the two disciplines. This includes joint seminars, a new specialization in the field of exoplanets in the astrophysics master’s program, and the annual “Exoplanets by the Lake” summer school in Herrsching. In addition, the new geoastronomy fellowship program has created two long-term postdoc positions, where young researchers can develop their own research interests.
The center will be officially opened on 5 and 6 October with the two-day event “When Worlds Collide.” On the agenda are public lectures by international scientists and various contributions from the geosciences, planetary sciences, and astrophysics.