Author Archive
When in doubt, aim high
Veerle Sterken had been away from a paid job in cosmic dust science for three years. Then she convinced the European Research Council (ERC) to fund her project on interstellar dust. That kick-started her “second career” in astrophysics and led to her project being welcomed into PlanetS by the board. “I will send out my […]
Continue Reading
Science taught her to stand up for herself
Yogita Kadlag is an astrophysicist from Maharashtra, India. Since October 2019, she’s been a member of the NCCR PlanetS. From her hometown, where she is stranded due to the Corona pandemic, she spoke to us about her work, cultural differences and discrimination. “It’s raining heavily at the moment; can we try again in 20 minutes?”, […]
Continue Reading
Change of personnel in the communication and outreach team
In the spring of this year, Barbara Vonarburg retired. Barbara was part of the communication and outreach team of the NCCR PlanetS from the beginning. As a highly skilled science journalist with experience in both print media and Swiss television, she brought important skills to our team. During her time at PlanetS, Barbara has written […]
Continue Reading
Professor wanted!
The Space Research and Planetology Division within the Physics Institute of the University of Bern has an opening, as per 1 January 2022, for a full or associate professor (100%) in the field of Theoretical Planetology.
Continue Reading
First exposed planetary core discovered
Researchers led by the University of Warwick have discovered the first exposed core of an exoplanet, which provides an unprecedented glimpse inside the interior of a planet. Christoph Mordasini from the University of Bern is leading the theoretical interpretation of this discovery.
Continue Reading
The planetary scientist has one great wish
Christoph Mordasini deals with the formation and evolution of planets inside and outside our solar system. In an interview he explains why the University of Bern has been at the forefront of space research since an experiment on the moon. And he reveals the question to which he would very much like to have an […]
Continue Reading
Planetary research in weightlessness
In a laboratory of a special kind, researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS were able to conduct experiments on planet formation on board the fourth Swiss parabolic flight campaign. It is a cool, cloudy morning at the military airfield in Dübendorf. The fourth Swiss parabolic flight campaign is about to launch […]
Continue Reading
ELT METIS Instrument Passes Design Milestone
METIS, the powerful imager and spectrograph for the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), has passed its Preliminary Design Review. METIS, short for Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph, will make full use of the giant main mirror of the telescope to study a wide range of science topics, from objects in our Solar System […]
Continue Reading
How we might search for life in the future
The “LIFE” mission, proposed by PlanetS researchers, could help answer questions about the habitability of our cosmic environment by employing a direct approach. When looking up at the sky at night, sooner or later the inevitable question arises: “Are we alone?” So far, science has not found the answer, even though it has been certain […]
Continue Reading
Origin of two “cosmic diamonds” clarified
“Bennu” and “Ryugu” are two near-Earth asteroids with a diamond-like shape, the origin of which has long been a mystery. Now simulations of asteroid break-ups show how the special shape came about. The results could also help to better understand the processes involved in the formation of the Earth. Around four and a half billion […]
Continue Reading
