Didier Queloz
active c. 1966, Geneva, Switzerland
Swiss astronomer who led the data analysis behind the first exoplanet discovery, 51 Pegasi b.
As Mayor's graduate student in Geneva, Queloz analyzed ELODIE data and saw 51 Pegasi 'rocking' periodically — a strict 4.2-day period ruled out stellar variability: it had to be a planet. He then studied planets via transits, using COROT/TESS satellites, and now teaches at Cambridge.
Nobel-winning work
Queloz's analysis of ELODIE data proved 'hot Jupiters' exist — 51 Pegasi b has ~0.5 Jupiter masses orbiting closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun by a factor of 8. The result overturned planet-formation theory (now explained by orbital migration) and launched the global exoplanet hunt.
Workplaces: University of Cambridge, University of Geneva
Switzerland, United Kingdom