Kick-off meeting launches Tartu–Tautenburg collaboration

On 19 January 2026, stellar physicists from Tartu Observatory, University of Tartu and the Thuringian State Observatory Tautenburg (TLS) held a kick-off meeting to initiate a new international collaboration “Building Up A Network To Study Hot Planets Of Hot Stars”.

This project focuses on close-in large gas planets similar to Jupiter and other types of planets orbiting hot, intermediate-mass stars. The collaboration is led by Dr Eike Günther (TLS) and Dr Heleri Ramler (UT Tartu Observatory).

"These planetary systems are interesting because the planets experience extreme heat and radiation. We want to understand how they form and survive in such harsh conditions,and how they differ from planets around stars like our Sun," said Dr Heleri Ramler.

The collaboration connects to two major European space missions: PLATO (launching in 2027) and ARIEL (launching in 2029). TLS works with PLATO, while Tartu Observatory is involved in ARIEL. Although PLATO mainly studies solar-type star systems, it has a guest observer program that allows scientists to study hotter, more massive stars as well.

At the kick-off meeting, the teams agreed their first goal is to prepare a research proposal for PLATO's first call for guest observations, with an anticipated deadline in early May 2026. The observable sky contains thousands of suitable target stars.

The collaboration will run for 12 months and includes two three-day workshops (one in Tautenburg, one in Tartu) and research visits between the institutes. Both observatories have similar telescopes with specialised equipment, which they'll use to observe the same targets and study the stars and their planets.

The project is funded by the German Research Foundation.