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A little girl looks fascinated at the screen and watches as a researcher floats around weightlessly in an airplane. Next to him, his experiment is running, which is supposed to provide data on the early phase of planetary system formation. “If you want to go into space later, you need a spacesuit,” the PlanetS scientist […]
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Unravelling the mystery of brown dwarfs
Brown dwarfs are astronomical objects with masses between those of planets and stars. The question of where exactly the limits of their mass lie remains a matter of debate, especially since their constitution is very similar to that of low-mass stars. So how do we know whether we are dealing with a brown dwarf or […]
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Like star, like planet
One of the patterns emerging from the thousands of exoplanets that astronomers have discovered to date, is that the larger planets often orbit more massive stars. The reason behind it was unknown. A new study led by scientists at the University of Zurich, and members associated with the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) […]
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Unique exoplanet photobombs CHEOPS study of nearby star system
While studying two exoplanets in a bright nearby star system, the CHEOPS satellite has unexpectedly spotted the system’s third known planet crossing the face of the star. This transit reveals exciting details about a rare planet “with no known equivalent”, as the scientific team led by the Universities of Geneva and Bern, and members of […]
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Scientists detect signatures of life remotely
It could be a milestone on the path to detecting life on other planets: Scientists under the leadership of the University of Bern and of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS detect a key molecular property of all living organisms from a helicopter flying several kilometers above ground. The measurement technology could […]
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“Science fiction writers imagine similar things to scientists”
The relationship between science and science fiction has changed significantly in recent years. And they influence each other, as Dr. Zoë Lehmann Imfeld, a literary expert on science fiction from the University of Zurich, told PlanetS in an interview. Astronomers discover new planets far out in space. And they are delivering fascinating research results on […]
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“I just became incredibly tough”
At the age of 32, Judit Szulágyi convinced the European Research Council to fund her research on planet and moon formation. With that, she also takes over leadership of a PlanetS project. Even though her fast track career makes it seem so, getting this far was not always easy. As most, Judit Szulágyi currently works […]
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What PlanetS scientists think about science fiction
Scientists who like science fiction. A no-go? Or perhaps the opposite? We talked to five scientists from the NCCR PlanetS about their relationship with science fiction and how they assess the influence of science on science fiction and vice versa. Dr. Vincent Bourrier Assistant Professor, Observatoire de Genève, Département d’Astronomie, Université de Genève What […]
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What’s out there? – UniPress in space
More than 4000 planets have already been discovered since Michel Major and Didier Queloz tracked down the first exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star in 1995 – triggering a revolution in astronomy. With the National Center of Competence in Research NCCR PlanetS, Switzerland is at the forefront of this adventure, as the current issue of the […]
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1 year of operations : Meet the CHEOPS science operations team
To ensure the smooth running of the CHEOPS mission once the satellite is in orbit, operations have been split in two parts : Science Operations in Switzerland with the Scientific Operations Centre (SOC) in Geneva and the Instrument Team in Bern, and the Mission Operations Centre (MOC) in Torrejón, Spain, which is in charge of communication […]
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