Public lecture (in German)
The planet hunters – from Herschel to PLATO
Prof. Dr. Ronald Redmer, Working Group Statistical Physics, University of Rostock (Germany)
Abstract of the talk// Planets such as Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter have always been visible to the naked eye. However, it was only through modern telescopes and mathematical precision that Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were discovered. The major breakthrough came in 1995 with the first detection of an exoplanet – a planet outside our solar system. Today, over 7,000 exoplanets are known, including completely new types such as super-Earths and hot Jupiters.
With each discovery, new scientific perspectives come into focus – such as the question of whether life-friendly conditions can be found somewhere in the universe or whether extraterrestrial life could even exist.
In the public lecture “The planet hunters – from Herschel to PLATO,” Prof. Ronald Redmer reports on this fascinating journey through the history of planetary research – from classical celestial mechanics to modern space missions such as Kepler, TESS, and the European PLATO project.
CV// Prof. Ronald Redmer is a physicist specializing in statistical physics and dense plasmas. He received his PhD in 1986 and completed his habilitation in 1991, both at the University of Rostock. Following this, he was awarded a prestigious Feodor-Lynen Fellowship and conducted research at Oregon State University in Corvallis, USA, from 1992 to 1993. From 1993 to 2003, he held the professorship for dense plasmas (C3) at the University of Rostock, where he has been serving as Professor for Statistical Physics (C4) since 2003. His scientific excellence has been recognized with, among others, an honorary doctorate from the Russian Academy of Science in 2007 and his election as Fellow of the American Physical Society (Division of Plasma Physics) in 2012.
The talk is directed to the general public. It is held in German. Admission is free. If you are interested, just drop by at our Werk 1 location in Görlitz opposite the RABRYKA cultural center and immerse yourself in the world of exoplanets.
CASUS – Center for Advanced Systems Understanding, Conrad-Schiedt-Str. 20, D-02826 Görlitz, Deutschland
25 June 2025, 5 pm