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Constantly growing amount of discovered exoplanets and accumulation of data regarding their physical and orbital characteristics provides a broad material for the study of general principles and major trends of planetary evolution. This turns the whole field of "exoplanetology" from a vague speculative subject into a practical science, aimed at characterization and understanding of the variety of discovered extraterrestrial worlds. A number of actual questions regarding the evolutionary paths of planetary systems is nowadays under continuous tackling. Among these questions a prominent position belongs to the problem of stellar - planetary interactions, including consideration of influences of stellar radiation and plasma flows, e.g., stellar wind, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), on planetary environments and evolution of planets towards possibly habitable worlds. The following issues will be addressed in the lecture:
- Planet definition. What are the planets?
- Exoplanet search methods.
- Habitable zone and habitability classification.
- Evolution of planetary atmospheres; the problem of planetary survival at close orbits; and how important planetary magnetospheres may be.
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