Interview with the author

Niall Deacon

Why is exoplanet science such a big topic right now?

The study of galaxies outside the Milky Way only got going in earnest 100 years ago. This October is the 25th anniversary of the first exoplanet being found around a star similar to the Sun. This opened a whole cornucopia of weird and wonderful worlds to explore and for our imaginations to run riot with.

What can exoplanets teach us about our own Solar System?

The Solar System is a snapshot in time: eight middle-aged worlds around one star. By studying exoplanets, we have access to a time machine to look at the still-forming worlds around young stars and learn how our own Solar System formed. We can also see the far future of our Solar System in the planetary systems around stellar remnants like white dwarfs.

What are the most mind-blowing exoplanets?

For me it’s the three planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12, likely the result of a neutron star ripping its white dwarf companion to shreds, with the planets forming from the debris. Then there’s WASP-12b, a gas giant so close to its parent star that the intense stellar radiation has caused it to swell up so much that it’s falling apart.

Could probes be sent to study exoplanets?

There’s been a proposal to send a swarm of probes to Proxima Centauri b. It would take at least a generation to get there, and a huge amount of money and technological progress. I think we’d benefit more from putting all that effort into projects based on more conventional observing techniques.

is an astronomy researcher focused on studying brown dwarfs and exoplanets