David Elder Lectures - Prof Rene Oudmaijer presents The Birth of Solar Systems

"Ever since the first planets were discovered outside our own Solar System in the 1990s, more than 6,000 exoplanets have been found. These planets and the planetary systems they reside in come in many shapes and sizes, but how are such planetary systems actually formed?

In this talk, an overview of the history and an explanation of the thinking behind our current theories of the formation of (extra-)solar systems is given. These theories were mostly inspired by the best studied planetary system around; our own Solar System, and in the talk this will be put to the test by some of the most recent findings of the many other solar systems around."