External Newsletter
Editorial
Dear readers, The year 2023 has been filled with exciting developments and events for NCCR PlanetS. This included important scientific output, events with the public, spacecraft launches, and critical missions extensions. At the end of the decade, the exploration of the Jupiter system will be the focus of two flagship class missions – something I […]
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“Space Talk” – online broadcast about space exploration
Since April 2023, “Space Talk, the programme that brings outer space to Earth” videos have been released monthly. Guido Schwarz from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS welcomes guests in the studio to talk about space topics. The online series is produced in cooperation with TeleBärn. Every day, the media publish news […]
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Retrospective on 2023 public events
The year 2023 has been rich in events for the NCCR PlanetS. It was mainly the occasion to meet with the public, but also with specific groups, schools and students in first place. Here is a short recap of the year events. US Ambassador visit United States Ambassador Scott C. Miller visited the University of […]
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An ever-growing series of prizes for CaSSIS Mars demystified
Take a space instrument orbiting mars, turn its Principal Investigator (PI) into a detective, add a hint of comic-style images, and you obtain… CaSSIS Mars demystified – a science short film winning a plethora of the awards around the world! The first episode of CaSSIS Mars demystified focused on dust devils, those sort of weak tornado-looking […]
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Searching for meteorites in Antarctica
Finding meteorites is no easy task. Despite this, a team of scientists including NCCR PlanetS member Prof. Maria Schönbächler from ETH Zürich, were successful on an expedition. Their secret? Going to Antarctica where they found several new meteorites between December 2022 and January 2023, including a unique piece weighing 7.6 kilograms. Looking for a needle […]
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An astronomical waltz reveals a sextuplet of planets
An international collaboration between astronomers using the CHEOPS and TESS space satellites, including NCCR PlanetS members from the University of Bern and the University of Geneva, have found a key new system of six transiting planets orbiting a bright star in a harmonic rhythm. This rare property enabled the team to determine the planetary orbits […]
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250th anniversary of the Observatory of Geneva
The Observatory of Geneva has just celebrated its 250th anniversary. Now attached to the University of Geneva, it is one of the co-leading houses of the NCCR PlanetS with the University of Bern. Here’s a look back at the year’s festivities. A little history The Observatory of Geneva was founded in 1772. The astronomer Jacques-André […]
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Robot Team to Explore the Moon
Swiss researchers are equipping legged robots with scientific instruments to search for minerals and resources on the Moon. One major strength of these robots is their ability to work as a team: even if one robot fails, the mission continues. On the Moon, there are raw materials that humanity could one day mine and use. […]
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Elusive planets play “hide and seek” with CHEOPS
With the help of the CHEOPS space telescope an international team of European astronomers managed to clearly identify the existence of four new exoplanets. The four mini-Neptunes are smaller and cooler, and more difficult to find than the so-called Hot Jupiter exoplanets which have been found in abundance. Two of the four resulting papers are […]
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CHEOPS mission extended
After more than three years in orbit, the mission of the CHEOPS space telescope has just been extended. Led by the University of Bern in collaboration with the University of Geneva, CHEOPS is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland. On March 7th, ESA’s Science Programme Committee has confirmed its continued […]
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