Towards 100,000 exoplanets

Description: Several large-scale ground and space-based exoplanet surveys have been planned for the next decade, through which the number of detected exoplanets is expected to increase multifold. Compared to the currently detected sample of ~5500 exoplanets, we can see an increase in the known hot and cool exoplanets by ~200,000. This explosive growth promises to revolutionise our understanding of exoplanet demography and provide stringent tests of planet formation theory and habitability. Given that the telescopes will be using several methods of exoplanet detection, it would also offer us an opportunity to organise a combined statistical study covering a wide range of exoplanetary parameters with increased reliability. This session will focus on the status of current surveys and the prospects of near-future ones. We will examine how such datasets can test theories of planet formation and consider new tools and methods that will enable optimised analysis of large exoplanet datasets obtained through multiple detection methods, including the expectations laid out for future missions.

Akshay Priyadarshi
Eamonn Kerins