30 Years of Exoplanets: Didier Queloz headlines anniversary event
The University of Bern will host a public event on 19 June 2025, to mark 30 years since the discovery of 51 Pegasi b, the first known exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star. The program will include contributions by Nobel laureates Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor, who discovered the planet in 1995.
The evening will open with lectures by Michel Mayor, Professor Emeritus at the University of Geneva, and Doug Lin of UC Santa Cruz, followed by a panel discussion featuring several leading figures in exoplanet research.external page
Didier Queloz and Michel Mayor discovered 51 Pegasi b in 1995, a finding that significantly altered the scientific understanding of planetary systems. Queloz, now astrophysics professor at ETH Zurich and external page University of Cambridge, will join the panel discussion titled “The Next 30 Years”, which will reflect on the progress made since the first discovery and examine future directions for the field. Other panelists include Sara Seager (MIT), Jonathan Lunine (Cornell University), and Laura Kreidberg (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy). The discussion will be moderated by Thomas Zurbuchen of ETH Zurich.
The program will conclude with a remote presentation by Carole Mundell, Director of Science at the European Space Agency, followed by an informal reception.
The event is organised by the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) and is open to the public with prior registration. It will also be streamed online.
The anniversary gathering precedes a closed Breakthrough Workshop hosted by ISSI, which will bring together around 40 invited scientists to examine key questions related to planetary habitability and the search for life beyond Earth. A joint publication is expected as a result of the workshop.
More information and registration details are available at external page www.issibern.ch/special-event.