As part of the PLATO Week#18 organised by the Centre for Planetary Habitability, Dept. of Geosciences, UiO, taking place in Oslo (29.07 - 31.07.2026), we have the privilege of welcoming Prof. Heike Rauer, Principal Investigator of the PLATO Mission, Dr. Maximilian Günther, European Space Agency (ESA) Project Scientist of the PLATO Mission, and Prof. Stephanie C. Werner, Director of the PHAB centre for a Public Evening Event on Thursday the 30th of July (19:30 – 21:00) at Domus Bibliotheca, UiO.
All interested in space and science are welcome!
Programme for the evening
- Professor Heike Rauer will deliver a public lecture (in English) titled: "Exoplanets – Finding other Worlds with the PLATO mission."
“Are we alone in the Universe? How common are planets like Earth?
The European Space Agency's upcoming PLATO mission is designed to help answer these fundamental questions. Scheduled for launch in spring 2027, the PLATO satellite is a unique space observatory equipped with 26 cameras working together to continuously monitor the brightness of more than a hundred thousand stars.
PLATO's strength lies not only in discovering new exoplanets, but also in characterizing them in remarkable detail. By combining observations from space and ground-based telescopes, astronomers will be able to determine the sizes, masses, mean densities, and ages of these distant worlds. This will provide an unprecedented census of planetary systems in our Galaxy and help us understand how planets form and evolve.
The mission will be particularly sensitive to small, Earth-sized planets orbiting Sun-like stars, including planets located in the so-called "habitable zone", where conditions may allow liquid water to exist.
As PLATO prepares for launch, its instruments have been completed, the first observing field has been selected, and extensive testing and mission preparations are underway.
This talk will provide an overview of the mission, its scientific objectives, the status of its preparations for launch, and its expected impact on exoplanet research in the coming decades.”
- Dr. Maximilian Günther will give his ESA insights into the PLATO mission in a short presentation (in English).
- Professor Stephanie C. Werner will round up the evening by highlighting Norway's contribution to the PLATO mission (in English).
For information about the PLATO Mission, please refer to the PLATO Mission website.
More information about the Week #18 can be seen here.
Host of the Public Evening Event and the PLATO Week #18 Oslo
PHAB – Centre for Planetary Habitability, Dept of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway
PHAB is one of the Norwegian Centres of Excellence (SFF) at University of Oslo