Dec 16 – 18, 2025
CERN
Europe/Zurich timezone

Plurality of Worlds, Plurality of Inhabited Worlds?

Dec 17, 2025, 9:15 AM
30m
500/1-001 - Main Auditorium (CERN)

500/1-001 - Main Auditorium

CERN

400
Show room on map

Speaker

Prof. Michel Mayor (Geneva University)

Description

Since ancient times, human curiosity has led us to wonder about our place in the cosmos. Greek philosophers were convinced that an infinite number of “worlds” existed in the universe. And they already evoked the possibility that some of these “worlds” could harbor living species. In today's terms: do planets exist around other stars? Is life present elsewhere than on our Earth? Modern technology has enabled the discovery of thousands of exoplanets, some with conditions compatible with the complex chemistry required for the possible development of life. But: Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? Do we have the means to detect it? Will modern science answer these questions?

Author

Prof. Michel Mayor (Geneva University)

Presentation materials