You are warmly invited to the 2026 Higgs Lecture featuring renowned astrophysicist and Nobel Laureate Professor Michel Mayor.

From one planetary system to billions: A new era in exoplanet discovery

In recent decades, astrophysics has transformed our understanding of the universe. We now know that our Solar System is just one among billions in existence, each with its own planets. As new telescopes on Earth and in space reveal an astonishing diversity of worlds, scientists are focusing on a profound question: how many of these planets might resemble Earth? And could any support life? In his talk, Michel will explore how this emerging picture of a universe with multiple potential habitats is reshaping how we explore, observe, and imagine our place among the stars. Scroll down to read his full abstract.

Who is this event for?

This lecture is for anyone with an interest in learning about exoplanets. Experience of working or studying in the field is not required to be able to understand the lecture.

Agenda

17:30 - Registration opens

18:00 - Lecture by Professor Michel Mayor

18:50 - Q&A

19:00 - Event ends

Abstract

Plurality of Worlds: Our era has transformed this dream, present since antiquity, into a living scientific field of astrophysics. While the idea of the existence of numerous planetary systems was very present in the public as early as the 17th century, astronomers in the first half of the 20th century believed that the solar system was unique in the Galaxy! But a major paradigm shift occurred in 1952, when it was estimated that there were several billion such systems.

Research over the last 30 years has revealed the astonishing diversity of planetary systems and their ubiquity. In particular, the number of rocky planets in the habitable zone of their host star is also enormous. Could some of these Earth-like planets harbor life? Is it possible to answer this question? It is a fascinating question on the agenda for telescopes on Earth and in space.

Speaker bio

After studying physics, Michel Mayor obtained his doctorate in 1971 at the University of Geneva. In his thesis, he focused on the dynamics of spiral galaxies. This work led him in the 1970s to develop spectrographs for measuring stellar velocities. Some 15 years later, he developed a new instrument, ELODIE, whose precision enabled him, together with his doctoral student Didier Queloz, to discover the first exoplanet, named 51 Pegasi b. This discovery in 1995 opened the fascinating field of research and study of exoplanets, these other worlds in the cosmos.

Mr. Mayor is professor emeritus at the University of Geneva. He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2015 and the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019.

He is a member of the French Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Sciences.

About the Higgs Lecture

The Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences is delighted to present the Annual Higgs Lecture. The inaugural Annual Higgs Lecture was delivered in December 2012 by its name bearer, Professor Peter Higgs (pictured below), who returned to King's after graduating in 1950 with a first-class honours degree in Physics, and who famously predicted the Higgs Boson particle.

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