Didier Queloz facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Didier Queloz
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Queloz in 2017
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| Born | 23 February 1966 Switzerland
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| Nationality | Swiss |
| Education | University of Geneva (MS, DEA, PhD) |
| Known for | First person to find a planet orbiting a Sun-like star outside of our solar system |
| Awards | Wolf Prize in Physics (2017) Nobel Prize in Physics (2019) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Recherches liées à la spectroscopie par corrélation croisée numérique; (INTER-TACOS: guide de l'utilisateur) (1995) |
| Doctoral advisor | Michel Mayor |
Didier Patrick Queloz is a famous Swiss astronomer. He is best known for a huge discovery he made in 1995. With his supervisor, Michel Mayor, he found the first planet orbiting a star like our Sun outside our own solar system.
This amazing planet is called 51 Pegasi b. For this discovery, he shared the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics with Michel Mayor and Jim Peebles. Today, Queloz is a professor at the University of Cambridge and the University of Geneva.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Didier Queloz was born in Switzerland on February 23, 1966. He studied at the University of Geneva. There, he earned his master's degree in physics in 1990. He then got a degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics in 1992.
In 1995, he completed his PhD. His doctoral advisor was the well-known Swiss astrophysicist Michel Mayor.
Discovering Exoplanets
Didier Queloz helped start a "revolution" in astronomy. This revolution is all about finding planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets. He made this breakthrough during his PhD studies.
In 1995, he and Michel Mayor announced their discovery. They found a giant planet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. This planet, 51 Pegasi b, is a type of planet called a Hot Jupiter. Hot Jupiters are large, gas giant planets that orbit very close to their stars.
They found the planet by looking for tiny wobbles in the star's movement. These wobbles are caused by the planet's gravity pulling on the star. This method is called the radial velocity method. It uses the Doppler effect, which is how light or sound waves change when the source is moving.
They used a new tool called ELODIE at the Haute-Provence Observatory. Their creative way of measuring the star's movement made the discovery possible.
For this incredible achievement, they received half of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics. The prize was given "for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star." This discovery greatly improved our understanding of the universe.
Expanding the Search for Planets
This first discovery changed astronomy forever. It kicked off the entire field of exoplanet research. For the next 25 years, Didier Queloz focused on improving how we find and study these distant worlds.
His goal was to learn about their physical structure. He wanted to understand how they form and change, comparing them to our own Solar System. He helped create new astronomical equipment. He also developed new ways to observe and find planets.
Early on, he realized that a star's own activity could make it hard to find planets. He found ways to tell the difference between a star's natural changes and the signal from a planet. His methods are still used today.
Queloz received the 2011 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for his work. He shared it with Michel Mayor. They were honored for developing new tools and techniques to find planets outside our solar system.
After ELODIE, he helped set up an improved tool called CORALIE. This was on the Swiss 1.2-metre Leonhard Euler Telescope. CORALIE quickly found many exoplanets in the southern sky.
In 2000, he became a project scientist for HARPS. This was a new type of spectrograph for the ESO 3.6m telescope. HARPS started working in 2003 and became a top tool for precise measurements. It helped find smaller exoplanets, like those the size of Neptune or "super-Earths."
Studying Transiting Planets
After 1999, scientists started finding "transiting planets." These are planets that pass directly in front of their star from our point of view. When this happens, the star's light dims slightly. Didier Queloz became very interested in combining this method with radial velocity measurements.
In 2000, he used the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect to study a transiting exoplanet. This method helps scientists figure out the angle of a planet's orbit compared to its star's spin. Ten years later, he showed that many planets orbit their stars at surprising angles, or even backwards. This gave new clues about how planets form.
In 2017, he received the Wolf Prize in Physics for this work and all his planet discoveries.
By combining transit observations with radial velocity, scientists can measure a planet's mass and size. This lets them calculate its density, which tells us what the planet might be made of. In 2003, Queloz and his team were pioneers in this field. They measured the density of planets found by the OGLE project. They also found the first transiting Neptune-sized planet, Gliese 436 b.
In 2007, Didier Queloz became an associate professor. His research on combining spectroscopy and transit detection grew. He led efforts to follow up on discoveries from the WASP consortium and the CoRoT space mission. These efforts led to over 100 scientific papers. They provided new insights into "Hot Jupiter" planets.
His team also found COROT-7b. This was the first planet discovered with a density similar to a rocky planet like Earth.
His expertise also helped with the Kepler space telescope. His team confirmed that Kepler-10 had an Earth-like density. He also played a key role in setting up the NGTS Observatory in Chile. This is a new generation of telescopes for finding transiting planets.
Search for Life in the Universe
When Didier Queloz moved to the University of Cambridge, he focused on finding Earth-like planets. He also wanted to search for signs of life in the universe. He helped create the Cambridge Exoplanet Research Centre. This center brings together scientists from different departments.
He is also involved in the CHEOPS space mission. This mission searches for exoplanets.
His most recent work includes searching for Earth-like planets around small stars. He worked with M. Gillon from the University of Liège. This led to the discovery of TRAPPIST-1. This planetary system has several planets that might be good places to look for atmospheres and signs of life.
Another success was studying 55 Cancri e. This is a "super-Earth" planet. His team is now looking into the conditions needed for life to begin on exoplanets. They combine chemistry and astronomy to define an "abiogenesis zone." This is where the basic building blocks of life could form.
Didier Queloz also enjoys sharing his excitement about science with the public. He has been in many documentaries, movies, articles, and interviews. He wants to inspire interest in science.
In 2019, Queloz predicted that humans would find extraterrestrial life within 30 years. He believes there are too many planets and stars for Earth to be the only place with life. He also believes the basic chemistry for life is the same everywhere.
Queloz also speaks about the importance of protecting our own planet. In 2019, he said that trying to escape Earth to another planet is not a serious hope. He believes we should focus our energy on fixing climate change here. He reminds us that humans are built to survive on Earth, not other planets.
Awards
- 2011: BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award of Basic Sciences (with Michel Mayor)
- 2013: Clarivate Citation Laureates
- 2017: Wolf Prize in Physics
- 2019: Nobel Prize in Physics
- 2020: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society
Named After Him
- Asteroid 177415 Queloz was named in his honor.
Images for kids
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A robot, symbolizing the future of exploration.
