Author Archive
Professor Francesco Pepe obtains the 2024 Tycho Brahe Medal
The 2024 Tycho Brahe Medal is awarded to Prof. Francesco Pepe (University of Geneva, Switzerland) by the European Astronomical Society for the development and exploitation of ultra-stable high-resolution spectrographs which revolutionised the detection and characterisation of small-mass exoplanets. Prof. Francesco Pepe is the director of the astronomy department of the University of Geneva, co-leading house […]
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CHEOPS in numbers
The CHEOPS nominal mission came to an end in September 2023. It is not the last of CHEOPS though, as the first extension of the mission is already going full-steam ahead and will last until the end of 2025 or even 2026 (pending approval from national agencies). The end of this first phase of the […]
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Water-worlds, the key to an exoplanet enigma
Why are so few exoplanets about twice the size of Earth detected? On the basis of computer simulations, a team from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) and the Universities of Geneva (UNIGE) and Bern (UNIBE) has confirmed that the migration of sub-Neptunes planets – water-worlds – could explain this absence. As these planets […]
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Decoding the secrets of distant worlds: Swiss collaboration to help elevate exoplanet research to new heights
The quest to unravel the universe’s mysteries takes a leap forward as the Near Infra Red Planet Searcher (NIRPS) consortium, jointly managed by the University of Geneva’s (UNIGE) Department of Astronomy and the University of Montreal, has received a cutting-edge boost from CSEM’s laser frequency comb technology. This laser frequency comb, a precise and stable […]
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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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A hellish childhood difficult to model.
A team of French and Swiss scientists, including astronomers from the University of Geneva and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS, has published a study leading to rethink what we know about the first climate of the Earth, back when it was still covered in lava. The study, published in the journal […]
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Tumultuous migration on the edge of the Hot Neptune Desert
All kinds of exoplanets orbit very close to their star. Some look like the Earth, others like Jupiter. Very few, however, are similar to Neptune. Why this anomaly in the distribution of exoplanets? Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS have observed a sample of […]
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James Webb reveals the atmospheric secrets of an exoplanet
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its unparalleled images of our Universe offers us a new first: by combining several instruments, it draws a molecular and chemical portrait of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-39b. It highlights the presence of water, carbon dioxide and especially, for the first time, sulfur dioxide created through reactions […]
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Espresso detects barium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet
An international team including researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has detected the heaviest element ever found in the atmosphere of an exoplanet: barium. This feat was made possible by ESPRESSO, a spectrograph developed largely by the UNIGE and installed on the Very Large […]
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Open Days at the Observatory of Geneva
The Observatory of Geneva celebrates its 250th anniversary with a year of activities for the public between June 2022 and June 2023. To launch these festivities, the Observatory of Geneva opens its doors for a special weekend on 18th and 19th June 2022. Come and discover the researchers of the astronomy department of the University […]
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