Exoplanet science is one of the most rapidly expanding fields of modern physical sciences: Countless new measurements are made, thousands of papers published annually, and the number of exoplanets and planet candidates discovered is rapidly approaching 6,000 – and set to accelerate!
What really drives this discovery? What will the future of exoplanet science bring? Which questions will be answerable? Which models will be testable? What will be the limits of knowledge in the next two decades? Which exoplanet surveys and missions will bring new fundamental insights into the nature and evolution of other worlds?
Recently, I gave a colloquium in LPL, exploring these questions, partly building on our Alien Earths team’s Bioverse framework. The colloquium is recorded and accessible via this link.