Interview with Exoplanet Expert Greg Laughlin

In the May 2013 issue of S&T, astrophysicist Greg Laughlin of the University of California, Santa Cruz — a leading expert on extrasolar planet research — describes the major role that migration plays in shaping the architecture of planetary systems around other stars.

In a 15-minute interview with S&T editor in chief Robert Naeye, Laughlin dives deeper into this fascinating topic. He discusses questions such as why migration was the missing ingredient in scientific predictions of other systems, what role planetary migration played in our own solar system, how often young planets are ejected from their natal systems, and whether our solar system might someday destabilize, causing Earth or another planet to be cast adrift into the frigid depths of interstellar space.

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