Astronomy Colloquium

A large number of close-in super-Earths have now been discovered.  How they form, and how they relate to other classes of planets, remain
unsolved. In this talk, I will discuss recent progress regarding their  masses, their composition, and their companion planets, leading to the
conclusion that super-Earths make up  a surprisingly uniform population.  This uniformity is unpredicted, and brings new insights to the theory of planet formation. As an aside, the census also indicates that planetary systems like our  own, with low-mass terrestrials inside and cold giants outside, are likely rare in the Milky Way.