Author Archive
Give a name to an exoplanet
What name would you give to an exoplanet and its star several tens of light years away? To celebrate its 100th anniversary, the IAU (International…
Continue Reading‘Forbidden’ planet found in ‘Neptunian Desert’
For the first time, an international team of astrophysicists, including members of PlanetS, discovered a new kind of exoplanet in the Neptun desert, an area…
Continue ReadingRare-Earth metals in the atmosphere of a glowing-hot exoplanet
KELT-9 b is the hottest exoplanet known to date. In the summer of 2018, a joint team of astronomers from the universities of Bern and…
Continue ReadingFive planets revealed after 20 years of observation
A team of astronomers led by members of PlanetS has discovered five new planets with periods of revolution between 15 and 40 years. It took…
Continue ReadingA sister of the Earth in a nearby system
Barely three times larger than the Earth, this new planet is the third closest to our solar system ever discovered. An international team of astronomers,…
Continue ReadingA planet inflated like a balloon
Researchers from UNIGE and members of the NCCR PlanetS have found helium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, swollen like a balloon. Although helium is…
Continue ReadingFinding a planet with a 10 years orbit in a few months
The method of transits, consisting of detecting a dip in the luminosity of the host star at the time the planet passes, is a very…
Continue ReadingHunting molecules to find planets
Each exoplanet revolves around a star, like the Earth around the Sun. This is why it is generally impossible to obtain images of an exoplanet,…
Continue ReadingFirst detection of Helium in an exoatmosphere
For the first time, an international team of astronomers including members of PlanetS has detected helium in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. Early theoretical models predicted helium…
Continue ReadingESPRESSO: first time with the 4 UTs of the VLT
The membres of the ESPRESSO team announced that the first light of ESPRESSO with the four VLT 8.2-meter Unit Telescopes (4UT mode) took place on…
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