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- Astronomy and Space Science
- Queen Mary University of London
- PhD Astronomy- Planet Formation and Evolution
Course options
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Qualification
PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy
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Location
Queen Mary University of London
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Study mode
Full time
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Start date
01-SEP-25
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Duration
3 years
Course summary
In the last 15 years over 4000 planets have been discovered around stars other than the Sun. We are now moving beyond just detecting planets, to really understanding their properties and characterising them. It is now clear that planets have very diverse features and to explain this we have to learn how they are formed from flattened ""protoplanetary discs of material around young stars, as well as how the planets subsequently evolve. Of course, we ultimately want to understand our own Solar system, and how it fits into the spectrum of planetary architectures.
The Planet formation and evolution group at Queen Mary is involved in world leading theoretical and observational research in planet formation and evolution, both within our own Solar system and beyond. We are involved in the Red Dots program, which has resulted in the detection of planets around some of the closest stars to the Sun, including Proxima Centauri, Barnards Star and Gliese 887.
The Planet formation and evolution group at Queen Mary is involved in world leading theoretical and observational research in planet formation and evolution, both within our own Solar system and beyond. We are involved in the Red Dots program, which has resulted in the detection of planets around some of the closest stars to the Sun, including Proxima Centauri, Barnards Star and Gliese 887.
Our group also studies the key role that planetary dynamics and collisions play in determining how planets and their satellites form and evolve, with a focus on Solar system planets and moons. The Solar System Dynamics group at Queen Mary was heavily involved in the Cassini mission to Saturn and was directly responsible for the discovery of two new Saturnian moons. The main research interests are the dynamics of planetary rings and their gravitational interaction with small moons orbiting nearby. Understanding these processes has direct applications to the behaviour of evolving protoplanets in a disc. The group also analyses Cassini images to make astrometric measurements of the positions of objects against background stars and thereby detect subtle changes in their orbits over time. This work contributed to new research showing that Saturns largest moon Titan was once much closer to the planet.
Tuition fees
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拢 28,850per year
Tuition fees shown are for indicative purposes and may vary. Please check with the institution for most up to date details.
University information

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University League Table
50th
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Campus address
Queen Mary University of London, Admissions and Recruitment Office, Mile End Road, London, Tower Hamlets, E1 4NS, England
Subject rankings
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Subject ranking
32nd out of 94 8
41st out of 48 1
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Entry standards
/ Max 228141 62%38th
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Graduate prospects
/ Max 10075.0 75%52nd
14 -
Student satisfaction
/ Max 43.06 76%52nd
24 -
Entry standards
/ Max 228141 62%33rd
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Graduate prospects
/ Max 10072.0 72%45th
2 -
Student satisfaction
/ Max 43.06 77%32nd
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