A researcher and scientific advisor at the Planétarium, Jonathan Gagné is also an adjunct professor in the department of physics at Université de Montréal and an associate member of the Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes (iRex). He works on the discovery and characterization of new associations of young stars, brown dwarfs, planemos, and exoplanets.
- Astrophysicst
- Scientific advisor
- Adjunct professor, Department of Physics, Université de Montréal
- Affiliations :
- Backyard Worlds: Planet 9
- Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes (iRex)
Areas of research and expertise
- Brown dwarfs
- Young stars
- Exoplanets
- Associations of young stars
- Astronomical data collection with telescope
Education
Postdoctoral training – Exoplanets
Institut de recherche sur les exoplanètes (iREx)
Postdoctoral training – Astrophysics, 2018
Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington DC
Doctorate – Astrophysics, 2015
Université de Montréal
Contributing to the discovery of stars and brown dwarfs
Jonathan Gagné uses telescopes at the Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic as well as others located in Hawaii and Chile.
Since the launch of the Gaia satellite by the European Space Agency, he has been analyzing new data to discover hundreds of low-mass stars belonging to associations of young stars. This work helps him better understand the properties of these very small stars and, consequently, those of exoplanets orbiting them.
The astrophysicist is involved in international projects, including Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, which focus on the discovery and study of brown dwarfs. His research has led to the discovery of several brown dwarfs whose masses are so small that they are comparable to gaseous giant exoplanets.
In his spare time, Jonathan Gagné delves into the potential of coffee from various origins and shares his insights through the blog Coffee ad astra.