A week-long international physics conference hosted by UNESCO partner Rencontres du Vietnam Sunday began its seven days of in-depth discussions on the topic of exoplanets, or planets that are outside our Solar System, with an opening ceremony in the Vietnamese coastal city of Quy Nhon.

Running from April 20 to 26, the Exoplanet Science conference will focus on the “newly emergent, but already mature, science of exoplanetary research,” Rencontres du Vietnam said on its website.

The conference will consist of plenary sessions for in-depth oral presentations, including review talks and talks on specialized topics, and short papers, according to the organizer.

This is the 10th meeting in a series of topical international multidisciplinary meetings, created by Vietnamese French scientist Jean Tran Thanh Van, founder of Rencontres du Vietnam. 

During its past editions, Rencontres du Vietnam covered many topics in physics, astronomy, and biology.

All sessions take place at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education in Quy Nhon, the capital city of Binh Dinh Province.

American planetary scientist and physicist Jonathan Lunine from New York-based Cornell University will be the event’s keynote speaker with his speech “Exoplanetary Science with the JWST.”

The JWST, or James Webb Space Telescope, is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope designed to study the formation of the first stars and galaxies, the evolution of galaxies and the Solar System, according to the http://jwst.nasa.gov website.

The Exoplanet Science conference will revolve around the results of major new observational projects – which have recently been commissioned or are being projected – and their impacts on exoplanetary science, according to Rencontres du Vietnam.

“The leitmotif of the meeting will be what we are likely to learn over the next decade,” it said.

The conference is chaired by renowned Swiss astrophysicist Michel Mayor, who is professor emeritus at the University of Geneva's Department of Astronomy in Switzerland.

Professor Mayor is also scheduled to talk to local students and science-lovers in Ho Chi Minh City, Quy Nhon and Hanoi.

Mayor finished his first talk in the southern hub on Friday and the remaining meetings will be held on April 24 and May 5, respectively.

On the sidelines of the conference, Mayor will have an online chat under the theme “Searching for Life outside the Earth” with Vietnamese people interested in astronomy and science.

Hosted by Tuoi Tre newspaper, the event will take place in Quy Nhon at 17:00 on April 25 (1000 GMT the same day).

People are encouraged to post their questions at http://tuoitre.vn/Phong-van-truc-tuyen/Index.html?ChannelID=99&InterviewID=230 (in Vietnamese), or send them to ttn@tuoitre.com.vn (in English).

Since 1993 Rencontres du Vietnam has organized international scientific conferences to foster exchanges between Vietnamese or Asia-Pacific scientists and colleagues from other parts of the world.

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