Yamila
Miguel
Associate Professor
The Netherlands Institute for Space Research
I am an astrophysicist working to understand our place in the Universe. My research focuses on the atmospheres and interiors of both exoplanets and the planets within our Solar System.
I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and knew early that I was going to be a scientist. I studied Astronomy at La Plata National University and completed my doctorate on the formation of planetary systems, supported by CONICET.
Postdoctoral years at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur took me from exoplanetary atmospheric chemistry to the interiors of giant planets, and brought me onto the Juno mission science team.
Since 2018 I have been at Leiden Observatory, and I am also affiliated with SRON, studying (exo)planetary atmospheres and interiors to understand how planets form and evolve. I am Principal Investigator of the ERC Consolidator grant N-GINE.
Research Interests: Exploring (Exo)Planet Interiors and Atmospheres
We have found more than 6000 planets around other stars, and almost none of them resemble anything in our Solar System. I work out what these planets are made of, their interiors and their atmospheres, and what that tells us about how planetary systems form. Jupiter and Saturn are the cases we can study closest, so they anchor everything else.
Invited Talks and Colloquia
My work has led to frequent invitations to present research at leading international institutes and conferences. Since becoming an independent researcher, I have delivered more than 50 invited colloquia at universities and research institutes worldwide, as well as more than 60 conference presentations, including more than 30 invited talks, keynote lectures and review presentations. These invitations reflect the international impact of my research.
I have presented invited colloquia at institutions including the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Exeter, St Andrews and UCL, and the Royal Observatory Edinburgh (UK); MIT, Princeton University, the University of Chicago, Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, UC Santa Cruz and NASA Goddard (USA); the Max Planck Institutes for Extraterrestrial Physics, Solar System Research and Astronomy, and University of Potsdam (Germany); KU Leuven (Belgium); ASIAA (Taiwan); and the Universities of Bern and Zurich and the Observatory of Geneva (Switzerland), among many others.
Upcoming in 2026
- Invited talk at the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) meeting, August 2026.
- Invited colloquium at the Observatory of Geneva, November 2026.
The Leiden Planetary Lab
The Leiden Planetary Lab is the research team I lead at Leiden Observatory. We want to know how planets work: what they are made of, what their interiors and atmospheres are like, and what that tells us about their history.
Most of that understanding comes from a handful of measurements, so much of our work is interpreting observations and asking what they can, and cannot, tell us about a planet. We study worlds from the giants of our own Solar System to rocky planets orbiting other stars, and where our own Solar System fits among them.
Recent work led by the team
Teaching: I developed the master’s course “Exoplanets A: Interiors and Atmospheres” at Leiden Observatory and have taught it ever since, and I previously taught “Stellar Structure and Evolution”. In 2024 I received Leiden University’s Teacher of the Year award. I see teaching as a challenge, and as one of the best ways I know to keep learning.
Stellar Structure & Evolution, Class of 2018
Outreach: One important part of my development as a scientist has been to stimulate interest and curiosity for science, sharing my research with the community and inspiring future scientists. I have presented more than 50 invited public colloquia and have been involved in numerous public activities since 2000. Some highlights:
