Venuses near and far

Description:

What can our nearest neighbour tell us about planets, planet formation and evolution, and the possibility of life elsewhere? We plan a broad session of interest to observational astronomers, planetary scientists and space-mission teams. Venus is at the forefront of exploration of our solar system, with multiple missions launching within the decade, while observations are starting to suggest that “exo-Venuses” – with toxic, hot, runaway atmospheres – could be as numerous as exo-Earth analogues. How do small rocky planets end up with such diverse end-points, even when hosted by the same star? Are there any lessons for us learn about “climates that go bad”, from the point of view of advanced life? Contributed talks may cover planetary geology, atmospheric studies, interpretation challenges (including in the context of gases that would be “biosignatures” on Earth), exo-planet characterisation, planet population synthesis and the formation and chemistry of proto-planetary discs, with other related topics highly encouraged. 

Organiser(s): 

Jane Greaves (Cardiff)