“Peering into the Birthplaces of Planets” (A Free, Virtual Lecture)

On June 12, 2025, at 7:00 PM, ET, Hamptons Observatory and co-host Suffolk County Community College will present a free virtual lecture by Dr. Jane Huang from the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University. She will lead us on a journey, “Peering into the Birthplaces of Planets,” and help us understand what we know about planet formation and how our own planet Earth came to be. Registration is required for this free, virtual lecture. Go to: https://bit.ly/PlanetaryTalk

Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets outside of the Solar System. Many of these planets have properties that are drastically different from the eight in our Solar System. To understand the diversity of planetary properties and ultimately answer the question of how our own planet came to be, we must study the conditions under which planets form. Planets are born in protoplanetary disks, which consist of gas, dust, and ice orbiting very young stars. Recent observations of disks with telescopes such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-millimeter Array, the Very Large Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope are playing a critical role in unveiling the chemistry and physics of planet formation. Dr. Huang will discuss their key discoveries as well as some of the mysteries of planet formation that remain open.

Dr. Jane Huang is an assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University. She received her PhD in astronomy & astrophysics from Harvard University. Before arriving at Columbia, she conducted research at University of Michigan as a postdoctoral scholar with funding from the NASA Hubble Fellowship Program. Her work centers on observing protoplanetary disks, especially with ALMA, in order to elucidate how planets form. Specific interests include the influence of environment on planet formation, the chemical evolution of disks and its link to exoplanet atmospheres, and the demographics of protoplanets.