Before 1995 the only planets we knew about were the ones in our own Solar System. We had no idea what was beyond our own place in space. But if our star, the Sun, had planets, why not other stars, too? The search for exoplanets - planets around other stars - began, and in 1995 the first world outside the Solar System was discovered. Since then, over 350 planets have been discovered around distant stars. While most of these planets are Jupiter-sized, astronomers are confident that Earth-like planets will soon be found, perhaps harbouring water, an atmosphere, and maybe even life. SuperWASP is a project using two telescopes that watches the light from stars. If a planet passes in front of a star, the light will dip slightly. SuperWASP can detect these miniscule dips in light, and then calculate the size of the planet and how fast it orbits the parent star. This is a major irish project that could lead the world in finding planets around other stars, Irish planets if you will. Dr Chris Watson is one of the scientists on the team based in Queen's University Belfast that is leading the search for new worlds. In this major public lecture on September 14th, he will explain how planets are found, and the work he and his team have done to date using SuperWASP. Cameras at the SuperWASP facility in the Canaries

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The lecture takes place in:
Fitzgerald Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2.
And can be accessed by the Westland Row or Lincoln Place entrances.