Author Archive
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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Four classes of planetary systems
Astronomers have long been aware that planetary systems are not necessarily structured like our solar system. Researchers from the Universities of Bern and Geneva, as well as from the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS, have now shown for the first time that there are in fact four types of planetary systems. In our […]
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“We need to normalise failure in academia”
The Academic Platform of the NCCR PlanetS organised a series of three workshops over the last two months, with a common theme to them: aiming for a healthier academic life. Today we look back at some of the key messages of each workshop. Well-being in academia The first workshop was held on the 8th of […]
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Changes in the communication team
Your communication team has evolved! There has been several changes in the last few months and with Phase III of the NCCR PlanetS. We welcome two new members with Sophie Krummenacher and Thibaut Roger. They are replacing respectively Sylviane Blum (retirement) and Arian Bastani who left the NCCR and joined the communication team of Bern’s […]
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Planetarium training at the General Assembly
In 2022, the NCCR PlanetS acquired two 5m-diameter inflatable planetariums, staying at the universities of Bern and Geneva. Transportable by car and able to welcome 15-20 persons per session, PlanetS members and associates can borrow them, upon request to the communication team, for school visits or other events. We are now looking for volunteers to help […]
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Second #NCCRWomen campaign
Last November, the second #NCCRWomen campaign started, featuring again scientists from the NCCR PlanetS! #NCCRWomen is an initiative launched for the 50th anniversary of women’s right to vote in Switzerland (7th of February 1971). It puts under the spotlight, women from each NCCR, sharing their portrait on a dedicated Twitter account, looking back at their […]
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Innovation and Entrepreneurship at NASA: Lessons Learned
The NCCR PlanetS, in collaboration with the Innovation Office of the University of Bern, the Entrepreneurship Center and be-advanced are happy to invite you the 28th of February 2023 for a unique event in company of Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen about the lessons he learnt at NASA regarding Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen was the […]
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James Webb Space Telescope identifies origins of icy building blocks of life
Interstellar molecular clouds are considered to be the birth sites of planetary systems. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, an international research team including the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS discovered the deepest and coldest ice […]
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Sharper infrared eyes for the VLT: ERIS sees first light
The European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) newest scientific instrument, the Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph (ERIS) has successfully completed its first test observations. One of them exposed the heart of the galaxy NGC 1097 in mesmerising detail. Installed on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Cerro Paranal in northern Chile, this infrared instrument will be able […]
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The planetary sciences and the French-Swiss cooperation under the spotlight.
The French-Swiss scientific cooperation was under the spotlight at the University of Bern, during an event organised Wednesday 3rd of November 2021 in collaboration with the French Embassy in Switzerland and Lichtenstein. Professor Magali Deleuil from the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM) was the special guest of this evening entitled “Looking for distant planets.” “We […]
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