–
February 6, 2024
Speaker: Dr. Charles J Law 
Topic: A Revolution in Planet Formation: The ALMA Era and Beyond
Abstract: It has long been known that planets form out of the primordial gas and dust surrounding young stars. In particular, the outcomes of planet formation are of significant interest, not only to understand where our own Solar System came from, but to explain the vast number of diverse exoplanetary systems discovered over the past several decades. Despite this, until recently, many of the details of this process were still unknown. With the advent of a new generation of telescopes such as ALMA and JWST, groundbreaking images have now begun to reveal this process in unprecedented detail for the first time. In this talk, I will discuss our current understanding of the planet formation process, present recent observational findings, and briefly touch on what the future holds for studies of planet formation.
Bio: Charles Law is a postdoctoral researcher and NASA Sagan Fellow at the University of Virginia, having previously completed both his undergraduate studies and PhD in astrophysics at Harvard University. His research focuses on the chemistry of star and planet formation. He uses observations from radio telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub millimeter Array (ALMA) to characterize the chemical environments in which young planets are forming. As an AAS Astronomy Ambassador, Charles is also interested in science communication and is invested in increasing access and promoting engagement in astronomy and STEM fields.
Format: ZOOM Presentation