Michel Mayor

Michel Gustave Édouard Mayor was born on January 12, 1942, in Lausanne, Switzerland. He would go on to become a prominent Swiss astrophysicist and professor emeritus at the University of Geneva. His work has significantly contributed to the field of exoplanet research.

On October 6, 1995, Michel Mayor and his doctoral student Didier Queloz announced the discovery of 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet orbiting a main-sequence star. This groundbreaking discovery marked the beginning of a new era in astronomy, opening up possibilities for finding other planets similar to Earth in the universe. The exoplanet, 51 Pegasi b, is located approximately 50 light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus and has a mass about 150 times that of Earth.

Michel Mayor was instrumental in the development of the CORALIE spectrograph, which began operation in 1998. CORALIE, located at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, is designed for the detection of exoplanets using the radial velocity method. This instrument has greatly increased the number of known exoplanets and enhanced our understanding of their properties.

In 2004, Michel Mayor and his team reported the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting the star Gliese 581. This was one of the first systems with multiple detected planets, suggesting that multiple planetary systems might be common. The Gliese 581 system would become one of the most studied planetary systems because of its proximity and the potential habitability of its planets.

In 2009, Michel Mayor received the Albert Einstein Medal from the Albert Einstein Society in Bern, Switzerland, for his extraordinary contributions to the field of astrophysics. The award recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to the natural, technical, and human sciences. Mayor's work in exoplanet discoveries brought new insights into our solar system and its formation.

Michel Mayor and his team discovered a planetary system around the star HD 10180 in 2010. This system, located about 127 light-years away, was found to have at least seven planets, making it one of the most extensive planetary systems discovered at the time. The discovery added to the understanding of planetary system formation and diversity in the galaxy.

Michel Mayor was among the scientists who confirmed the existence of Kepler-22b, a habitable-zone exoplanet, using radial velocity data. Kepler-22b, discovered by the Kepler Space Telescope, prompted discussions about the possibility of life on other planets given its location within the habitable zone of its star.

Michel Mayor was awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics in 2015, alongside Robert N. Wilson, for their important work in the discovery and characterization of exoplanets, which has significantly advanced our understanding of these distant worlds. The Wolf Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the field of physics, highlighting Mayor's influential contributions to astrophysics.

Michel Mayor retired on June 30, 2017, from the University of Geneva, where he had been a professor and a key figure in their Department of Astronomy. Throughout his career, he contributed immensely to the discovery of exoplanets, training new generations of astronomers who continue his pioneering work in astrophysics.

On October 8, 2019, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star. Their work fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe, confirming that planets could be found orbiting other stars and encouraging the development of new astronomical tools and techniques.