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Stars and planets: Born of fire and ice
25 Aug 2025
Barbara Ercolano researches how stars and planets come into being. The LMU astrophysicist asks whether life is the inevitable result of the physical principles that govern the universe.
Prof. Dr. Barbara Ercolano
is spokesperson for the ORIGINS Cluster of Excellence and strives to shed light on the mysteries of planetary formation. | © Florian Generotzky / LMU
Some are infernally hot – hotter than the most common stars in our Galaxy. Others move so incredibly fast that their year lasts only a little over four hours. Still others get rained on – not by water, but by glass. And then there are the ones that, at least at first glance, are virtually indistinguishable from our Earth.
Exoplanets, i.e. planets that circle distant stars, are always good for a surprise. Astronomers have so far discovered nearly 5,900 of these strange worlds – in almost every conceivable variation, despite the fact that planetary systems are all born of the same fundamental building blocks.
Stars and planets: Born of fire and ice: Read the article in the digital research magazine here