Princeton University Extrasolar Planet Discussion Group

Both solar system studies and exoplanet science focus on the same class of objects: planetary bodies. Thus, rich synergies between these disciplines can advance our knowledge of fundamental planetary processes. In this talk, I will present new insights and new approaches from identifying and pursuing connections between planetary and exoplanetary science. First, I will discuss a case study of small bodies: comets and asteroids. I will show how the curious attributes of `Oumuamua, the first-discovered interstellar small body, raise new questions about our solar system’s inventory of small bodies that may resolve decades-old discrepancies on asteroid statistics. Second, I will discuss exoplanets and present a case study of atmospheric mass-loss. I will draw on aeronomy, a long-researched branch of geoscience that concerns upper planetary atmospheres, to develop a new multi-wavelength, multi-epoch approach for studying exoplanets. Throughout the talk, I will show how solar system and exoplanet science can illuminate previously opaque topics in the other discipline towards concrete progress on planet-formation and evolution.