Abstract

Abandoned Martian landscapes, stormy water planets, inhospitable ice worlds – whether in `The Martian’, `Interstellar’ or `Star Trek’, we are used to fictional scientists searching for a new Earth. But do such worlds exist in reality? This question was strongly debated for millennia – until the first extra-solar planet was found 20 years ago. Nowadays we know of thousands of exoplanets, whose variety urged us to rethink theories about our own solar system. In order to learn more about our home we first needed to start a quest for new worlds. And this quest has just begun.

This talk will give a summary of the exciting field of exoplanet research. I will discuss the scientific revolution the first discoveries caused, driving methods for detection and characterization, inspiring new missions, as well as the search for habitability.