External Newsletter
The “La Recherche” prize to Christophe Lovis
Christophe Lovis, a member of NCCR PlanetS at the University of Geneva, received the “La Recherche” prize at the beginning of this year, awarded by the prestigious French magazine of the same name and aimed at the general public. In an article published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophisycs Christophe Lovis and his colleagues demonstrated […]
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„Who doesn’t want to be a comic-strip hero?”
On 28 March 2018, the exhibition “Expedition Sonnensystem – Mit der ETH auf Forschungsreise durchs All” opened to the public at the ETH museum focusTerra in Zurich. Among others, seven scientists from the NCCR PlanetS can be seen there – in comics. PlanetS also contributed financially to the realisation of the exhibition. The new exhibition […]
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“Science gets more personal thanks to the comic heroes”
Ulrike Kastrup, head of focusTerra, talks about the exhibition “Expedition Sonnensystem” at the ETH museum in Zurich and why she chose comics as a style element to tell the stories. PlanetS: Mrs. Kastrup, you have decided to choose the style element comic strip for the exhibition. What were the reasons for this? Ulrike Kastrup: Because […]
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Thirsty for Space Science
Worldwide Science Slam series «Astronomy on Tap» lands in Bern If talking about astronomy and space science over drinks in a bar sounds like fun to you, you better save these space-time coordinates: April 30th at ONO in Bern. Come to the very first Astronomy on Tap, Bern event to listen to various talks, from […]
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Water during planet formation and evolution
This last February the workshop ‘Water during planet formation and evolution’ took place at the University of Zurich. Grown out of an initiative from junior researchers across the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Bern, more than 60 international scholars gathered to discuss the crucial role of water on planets in the solar system […]
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Perseverance and dedication
Dear Reader, In this edition of the Observer, you will read among other about the history of CHEOPS, the tribulations leading to the first light of ESPRESSO, and about the legacy of the Cassini mission. These stories illustrate that great projects are made possible by perseverance and dedication. What appears simple and evident after the […]
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First light of ESPRESSO
The new ultra-high resolution spectrograph developed by a consortium led by Francesco Pepe professor at the Department of Astronomy of the Geneva University and member of PlanetS observed its first star successfully. Installed at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) site in Chile, ESPRESSO will look for tiny changes in the speed of stars, sign of […]
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“I’m like the oil in the engine”
The Council of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has elected Willy Benz, Professor at the University of Bern, as its next president. The Council, which is composed of the delegates from the ESO member states, is the organisation’s ruling body and makes strategic decisions on its behalf. PlanetS: What will your role as president of […]
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Astronomy in your wallet
There is a good chance that you are carrying 51 Pegasi around with you. The name of the star, around which the Geneva astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz discovered a planet in 1995, is on the new Swiss 20 franc banknote. In addition, there is a ten-digit number – an example of Swiss banking […]
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A visit of the ice lab
What do the images of Mars, Comet Chury or other celestial bodies really show? For a reliable answer researchers at the University Bern study the optical properties of dust-ice mixtures that are analogs of planetary or cometary surfaces. Have a look at their laboratory.
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