Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan

The discoveries of thousands of extrasolar planets have revealed an astonishing diversity in their physical characteristics - orbital properties, masses, radii, temperatures, and host stars. Exoplanets known today range from super Jupiters to Earth-size rocky planets over a wide range of temperatures, including several in the habitable zones of their host stars. Recent advances in atmospheric spectroscopy of exoplanets are leading to unprecedented insights into their atmospheric properties and physicochemical processes. I will discuss some of the latest insights into atmospheric properties of exoplanets made possible by state-of-the-art high-precision observations from space and ground, and their implications for atmospheric, interior, and formation processes of exoplanets. A survey of theoretical and observational directions in the field will be presented along with some open questions on the horizon. The near future of this emerging frontier in the context of major advances expected from facilities such as TESS, JWST and large ground-based facilities will be discussed.