Internal Newsletter
PlanetS at Swiss Fantasy Show
By Pierre Bratschi An unusual proposal arrived on the desk of the platform communication and outreach members of PlanetS to participate in the Swiss Fantasy Show, a convention bringing together thousands of sci-fi fanatics. “Okay,” Willy Benz finally declared after a long reflection tinged with skepticism, “but we are scientists who do science. Show that […]
Continue Reading
Facebook experiences
By Carsten Knigge After having launched the PlanetS Facebook profile last April and hence six months of running time so far, certain impressions and experiences shall be shared here with the PlanetS community. After certain technical difficulties in the beginning, the submission process by means of a dedicated form seems to work smoothly. The language […]
Continue Reading
Alien biochemistry on Titan
Titan is a large moon of Saturn discovered in 1655 by Christiaan Huygens with a two inch telescope. It is a cold world. At its distance from the Sun it receives just one percent of the sunlight that Earth receives and its surface is a chilly minus 180 centigrade! In December 2004 the Cassini-Huygens twin […]
Continue Reading
PlanetS Board made its choice
Finding as many planets as possible in the close solar neighbourhood and the formation of giant planets at large orbital distances: These are the topics of the two proposals that were selected as new initiatives to be funded by the PlanetS Board. Sascha Quanz and Christophe Lovis are the authors of the first proposal, Christoph […]
Continue Reading
Swiss Federal Council on “School Trip” to the University of Bern
To kick off its annual “school trip” around the country, the Swiss Federal Council paid the Center for Space and Habitability of the University of Bern a visit on July 7th, 2016. The members of government were informed about the important role the university plays in space projects such as ROSINA / Rosetta, ExoMars and […]
Continue Reading
A Successful Open House Day at the Geneva Observatory
The morning rain and afternoon clouds on Saturday 2nd July 2016 did not discourage some 1200 visitors from discovering Astrotech, the new building of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Geneva, officially opened five days earlier. An important event for PlanetS since it is in this new building that members of the NCCR and […]
Continue Reading
Giving a good talk
By Audra Baleisis In the last issue of the Insider, you had a chance to read a variety of opinions from PlanetS project leaders about what is necessary for a good science talk (for a Journal Club, group seminar, conference, or job talk). With so many different voices, sometimes saying different things, it can be […]
Continue Reading
Insights into current topics in gender research
By Nadine Afram Gender analysis in research and research funding is a hot topic and it is seen, for example, as a priority in Horizon 2020. In the next few issues, I will present some of the current topics that are discussed in gender research. Decision-making positions in science are still male dominated which leads […]
Continue Reading
New members of PlanetS
Ravit Helled is a new professor at the University of Zurich and is going to replace Prof. Michael Meyer in the academic platform of PlanetS. “I am working with people who are involved in different PlanetS projects, and my main interests are linked to theory of planet formation, evolution, and internal structure,” she explains. Ravit […]
Continue Reading
Postcards and roll-ups
You have soon a presentation, you are invited to a talk or you organize an event? Then the communication and outreach team can offer to support you with outreach material to reinforce your message and to make the NCCR PlanetS further known. On the one hand, two postcards are available. One of them is advertising […]
Continue Reading
