Professor Dr Thomas Henning

Research Fields: Star and planet formation, circumstellar accretion discs (protoplanetary discs), exoplanets and their atmospheres, physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium, prebiotic chemistry and the origins of life, development of astronomical instruments
Thomas Henning is an astrophysicist. The focus of his research is the process of star and planet formation and the characterization of the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium. He is investigating the formation of planetary systems and is studying exoplanets and their atmospheres. His experimental studies deal with the synthesis of small solid particles and complex organic molecules under the conditions of the interstellar medium. For his observing programs he builds astronomical instrumentation including the James Webb Space Telescope.
Thomas Henning studies how stars form and how cold interstellar molecular clouds are converted into stars and stellar clusters. Stars effect the structure of entire galaxies and are the basis for planet formation. Together with his team Thomas Henning analyses the phases and the physical process of star formation and pursues the question of how, over millions of years, planets form from tiny dust particles. To detect planet-forming discs and exoplanets in space and to better study the atmospheric composition of planets, the Henning team develops suitable instruments and observing strategies. Thomas Henning is particularly interested in the synthesis of nanoparticles and complex organic molecules under the conditions of the interstellar medium. These studies connect to the question how life formed on early Earth. For these studies he established the necessary experimental facilities in his group.
During the process of star formation, young stars (protostars) are deeply dust-embedded in molecular clouds and surrounded by accretion discs (protoplanetary discs) of dust and gas. Thomas Henning studies the physical and chemical structure of protoplanetary discs with multi-wavelength observations. In addition, he investigates the physical processes in these discs with large-scale numerical simulations. The astrophysicist is characterizing the fundamental properties of exoplanets and their atmospheres.
In his research program, Thomas Henning combines comprehensive multi-wavelength observations, numerical simulations with supercomputers, theoretical models, and experiments in the laboratory. With his team he develops astronomical instruments for ground-based observatories as well as infrared instruments for space telescopes. He was part of major research projects, such as the construction of instruments for the Herschel Space Observatory of the European Space Agency ESA and the James Webb Space Telescope, as well as the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona (USA). In his honour, asteroid 30882 was named “Tomhenning” in 2009.