Report - School of Physics

and their suitability for supporting life such pitfalls can be rather embarrassing and
damaging to the credibility of the field. In order to assess the current situation
properly, further consultation will be needed between the astronomical community
and the relevant atomic and molecular physics community involved in the laboratory
work. Links between these communities are also being investigated in the context
of the Virtual Observatory.
4.7.2 Fundamental Planetary Data
The solar system research community has the best knowledge of the only planetary
system studied in detail, with extensive data archives like the Planetary Data System
(PDS). For extra-solar planet research full use of that information must be made
without being limited by it. Most of the planetary systems found so far are quite
different from ours. Items of particular relevance might be: (i) distribution of minor
bodies and dust, relevant for zodiacal light; (ii) mass radius relation for various kinds
of planets; (iii) reflective properties of different planetary surfaces (gaseous/solid,
rock/ice) in particular integrated over the sphere (and thus the influence of weather);
(iv) spectral signatures of planetary atmospheres; (v) mass-loss from atmospheres;
documented by planetary probes for Mars, indication for mass loss has also been
found in HST observations of the transit of HD 209458; (vi) signatures of volcanism,
like SO 2 (cf. Earth and Io).
Scientific results on solar system bodies and extra-solar planets are presented at
various conferences of both communities, which in part have already established
‘cross-discipline’ sessions to support the exchange of knowledge between the two
fields (e.g., the EGU and DPS). ESO and ESA might consider fostering the exchange
of information and collaboration by organising joint cross-disciplinary workshops,
including ESA’s Earth observation community. Such dedicated workshops could
aim at the specific needs of extra-solar planet research and serve to define the needs
for further observations of solar system bodies (e.g., atmospheres of planets and
moons). In addition, building a data base collecting, for example, the spectra on
planets, moons and minor bodies in our solar system as a reference for extra-solar
planets could be discussed within both communities at such dedicated meetings.
4.7.3 Amateur Networks
As described above, thousands of candidate planets will be discovered by ongoing
surveys both from the ground and in space. Follow-up of all these candidates will be
essential in order to verify their existence and to derive additional information about
their properties. Observations of transits in particular will be valuable for candidates
found by radial velocity or astrometric measurements. Dedicated (groups of)
amateurs with state of the art equipment at reasonably large (>60 cm) telescopes
could contribute in this area. The AAVSO is already calling on its observers to
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