TY - BOOK ID - 2716740 TI - Planets outside the solar system : theory and observations : proceedings of a Nato Advanced Study Institute ... held in Cargèse, Corsica, France, 5-15 May 1998 AU - Mariotti, J.-M. AU - Alloin, D. AU - NATO Advanced Study Institutes AU - Planets outside the solar system : theory and observations AU - Kluwer Academic Publishers PY - 1999 VL - 532 SN - 0792357086 0792357094 9401146233 DB - UniCat KW - Astronomy & Astrophysics KW - Physical Sciences & Mathematics KW - Astrophysics KW - Extrasolar planets KW - Planets KW - Congresses KW - Planetology. KW - Observations, Astronomical. KW - Astronomy—Observations. KW - Biochemistry. KW - Astrophysics. KW - Astronomy, Observations and Techniques. KW - Biochemistry, general. KW - Astrophysics and Astroparticles. KW - Astronomical physics KW - Astronomy KW - Cosmic physics KW - Physics KW - Biological chemistry KW - Chemical composition of organisms KW - Organisms KW - Physiological chemistry KW - Biology KW - Chemistry KW - Medical sciences KW - Astronomical observations KW - Observations, Astronomical KW - Planetary sciences KW - Planetology KW - Composition KW - Extrasolar planets. KW - Exoplanètes KW - Exoplanètes UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:2716740 AB - The question of the existence of other worlds and other living beings has been present in the human quest for knowledge since as far as Epicurus. For centuries this question belonged to the fields of philosophy and theology. The theoretical problem of the formation of the Solar System, and hence of other planetary systems, was tackled only during the 18th century, while the first observational attempts for a detection started less than one hundred years ago. Direct observation of an extra-solar planetary system is an extraordinarily difficult problem: extra-solar planets are at huge distances, are incredibly faint and are overwhelmed by the bright light of their own stars. With virtually no observational insight to test their models, theoreticians have remained for decades in a difficult position to make substantial progress. Yet, the field of stellar formation has provided since the 1980s both the the­ oretical and observational evidences for the formation of discs at the stage of star birth and for debris materials orbiting the very young stellar systems. It was tempting to consider that these left-overs might indeed later agglomerate into planetary systems more or less similar to ours. Then came observational evidences for planets outside the Solar System. ER -