dr hab. Joanna Molenda-Żakowicz, IA UWr

New perspectives on our place in the universe

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2019 was awarded to James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology, and jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star. The Mayor’s and Queloz’s discovery started a revolution in astronomy, which resulted in over 4,000 exoplanets found in the Milky Way. The strange new worlds beyond the Solar System, which are still being discovered, challenge our preconceived ideas about planetary systems. They are also forcing scientists to revise their theories of the physical processes behind the origins of planets. With numerous projects planned to start searching for exoplanets and to study their properties in more detail, we may eventually find an answer to the eternal question of whether other life is out there.