
Biography
Dr Hannah Wakeford is an Associate Professor in Astrophysics at the University of Bristol where she leads the Exoplanet Atmospheres group.
Hannah is an expert in spectroscopic observations with the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes which allow her to determine what the atmospheres of distant exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system, are made of. She has a particular fascination in their clouds, which she credits to her Britishness, and is a leading expert in clouds made of hot exotic species.
Hannah is also a well-versed science communicator having regularly appeared on TV and radio and co-authored the popular science book Bang!! The Complete History of the Universe along with Drs Brian May and Chris Lintott.
Synopsis
Exoplanets offer a window onto our own Solar System: how did it form, why are we here, is there anything like us out there? These deep and profound questions require a multitude of discoveries to answer.
I will take us on a journey to explore how we measure and understand the nature these strange new worlds beyond our Solar System. We will dive into the atmospheres of alien worlds to discover how clouds shape the climate of a planet and control the fundamental nature of its environment.
I will showcase how using state-of-the-art telescopes such as Hubble and JWST have changed our view of physics and chemistry to bring our Solar System into perspective.