More than 500 planets are now known to orbit main-sequence stars in the neighborhood of our Sun, discovered using a variety of detection and characterization techniques. Fifteen years after the first announcement, the formation and evolution of planetary systems is now emerging as a new, quickly expanding interdisciplinary research field.

The Symposium brought together leading experts from the many different research disciplines involved with two broad aims:

1. to present the state-of-the-art of the field of extrasolar planets, through an organic discussion of the observational evidence in connection with the most recent theoretical progress,

2. to identify objectives and strategies necessary in the coming years to advance our comprehension of the many complex processes which connect the formation, structure, and evolution of planetary systems.

Applet Java by E. Harshbarger, © 1999

   last update 23/11/10