Prof. Dr. Heike Rauer is a German physicist and planetary scientist, specialised in the topics of planetary research, astrophysics and astronomy.
Her scientific focus is in the detection and characterization of extrasolar planets, as well as exploring the habitability of planets in and outside the Solar System.
Currently, she is working at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Freie Universität Berlin, among others as principal investigator of the PLATO Mission Consortium (https://platomission.com/).
Furthermore, she is the first chair of the German Society for Planetary Research, founded in 2025. (https://planet-dgp.de/).
Until 2025, she coordinated the DFG Priority Programme 1992 Exploring the Diversity of Extrasolar Planets.
Life
Heike Rauer got her physics diploma in 1986 at the Leibniz-Universität Hannover. In 1991, she received her doctorate at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and the Max-Planck-Institut for Aeronomy with a work titled Untersuchung der dynamischen Variabilität der Ionen in Kometenschweifen durch Messung der Säulendichten und Geschwindigkeiten.
To honor her work on comets, the Asteroid 10025 Rauer, discovered 16th March März 1980, was named after her.
From 1997 to 2025, she conducted research at the Institute of Planetary Research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and for many years she led the department Extrasolar Planets and Atmospheres. Starting in 2017, she succeeded Prof. Dr. Tilman Spohn as director of the institute, a task she fulfilled until 2025.
In 2004, Rauer completed her habilitation at the Technical University Berlin. From 2006 to 2017, she was a professor for planetary physics there. In 2017, she moved to the Freie Universität Berlin, and since then has been professor for planetary geophysics there.
Rauer was already involved in the CoRoT mission, the first space mission searching for exoplanets. Since 2013, she has been leading the scientific consortium for the ESA space telescope PLATO, which will start looking for planets in the Milky Way starting 2027.
Since May 2025, she has been working at DLR as an advisor on ESA matters, besides her professorship at the Freie Universität Berlin.
Research
Her research focuses on extrasolar planets. She is involved in the search for exoplanets and their characterization using the transit method, both using space telescopes and Earth-based observations. She is also involved in modeling the atmospheres of exoplanets and studying their spectroscopic properties. The aim of her research is to determine the habitability of other planets and to make statements about the early days of the Solar System.