Lezing PLATO mission: A new window for the discovery of other worlds (Leiden, in English)
In deze lezing vertelt Ana Heras hoe de PLATO-missie van de European Space Agency (ESA) vanaf 2027 op zoek gaat naar exoplaneten door 150.000 heldere sterren minutieus in de gaten te houden. De lezing wordt in het Engels gegeven en is onderdeel van de Kaiser Spring Lectures van de Oude Sterrewacht in Leiden. Hier onder is een Engelse beschrijving te vinden.
The European Space Agency’s PLATO mission is currently being developed and is expected to launch in January 2027. PLATO’s main goal is to search for planets that orbit stars outside our Solar System, known as exoplanets. PLATO is so sensitive that it can spot planets as small as Earth and at distances from their host stars where conditions allow water to exist in liquid form on their surfaces. The mission will employ the transit method, systematically monitoring tiny variations in the light of over 150,000 bright stars for a period exceeding two years, which can reveal when a planet passes in front of them. PLATO will also measure the oscillations of the stars, unlocking secrets about their inner structure and evolution. This approach offers scientists the chance not only to discover worlds up to the stars’ habitable zones, but also to precisely measure their size, mass, and age, tracing the story of planets across time and space.
Over de spreker
Ana Heras werkt voor ESA als wetenschapper aan de PLATO-missie.
Deze lezing is onderdeel van de Kaiser Spring Lectures die deze lente op de Oude Sterrewacht in Leiden worden gegeven. Er zijn vijf lezingen door astronomen met als thema One in a Million? Looking for a second Earth. Meer informatie over de Kaiser Spring Lectures is hier te vinden.
Lezing ESA’s PLATO mission: A new window for the discovery of other worlds
Ana Heras (ESA)
zaterdag 21 maart 2026, 14.00 tot 15.30 uur
Oude Sterrewacht Leiden, Sterrewachtlaan 11, 2311 GW Leiden
Entree € 5,80 euro (€ 6,80 inclusief tour van de Oude Sterrewacht)
Meer informatie en tickets