Internal Newsletter
Reconciling Philosophical Tensions Within Exoplanet Science
By Kevin Heng PlanetS is forcing the unification of several schools of thoughts that are traditionally distinct, even if they share common interests. The study of planets within and beyond our Solar System is a topic that both planetary scientists and astronomers agree is immensely fascinating. From a distance, it appears as if these scientists exist as […]
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A taste of the Andes from Geneva
Following the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995, the Department of Astronomy of the University of Geneva built and installed the Euler telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in 1998. This 1.2m diameter telescope is connected to the high-resolution spectrograph CORALIE, whose software instantly computes precise radial velocities of observed stars in order to […]
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Ask the NCCR
Do you want to know more about PlanetS, its organization, structure, options, prospects or limitations? After this year’s General Assembly and some subsequent discussions, we thought that a number of issues might not be clear and asked you to send us all these questions you have about the NCCR that you never had a chance […]
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“A degree in physics opens many doors”
Many young researchers are concerned about their professional future. The newsletter InsiderS by the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS presents physicists who have made a career outside the university. Bettina Zahnd is head of Accident Research and Prevention at the AXA Insurance Group in Winterthur. “Those who have studied physics have many abilities: […]
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Roberto vs Roberta
By Nadine Afram During the LERU (League of European Research Universities) conference at the University of Zürich in June, implicit gender bias as one significant explanation of the loss of female talent in academia was examined. One of the speakers, Roberto Weber, Professor of Economics at UZH, shared a very interesting thought experiment with us. […]
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PlanetS at Exoplanets II
By Thibaut Roger Two to three hundred exoplanetary scientists from all around the world met in Cambridge from the 2nd of July to the 6th of July, for the Exoplanets II conference. It followed the first edition two years ago in Davos and will continue in Heidelberg in 2 years. More than 30 members and […]
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Confronting theory and observations
30 members of PlanetS gathered on the 9th of July 2018 in Bern for a workshop with the title “Exoplanet Demographics: Observations Confront Planet Formation Theory”. “We have such good expertise in the NCCR that you just have to bring people together,” says organizer Christoph Mordasini: “That is the challenge.” One of the reasons why […]
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When science and art meet
By Thibaut Roger On the 6th and 7th of July 2018, few thousands of visitors, from 1 to 100 years old, enjoyed the 12th edition of the Night of Science. There they could discover sciences, with the thematic of “All an art ?”, under the guidance of few hundreds of scientists and students. The NCCR PlanetS […]
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Real added value
By Francesco Pepe On May 29th and 30th PlanetS will have its 4th Site Visit. This important event is concurrent with the end of the first phase of the NCCR, and may be an occasion to make a step back, breath and … meditate: Where would Planetary Science in Switzerland stand today without PlanetS? What […]
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Observing the Sun to detect planets
The detection of small exoplanets like the Earth is subject to many difficulties, in particular those introduced by the intrinsic variation of the star which can be confused with the presence of a planet. An international team of astronomers and engineers, led by scientist from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and member of PlanetS, has […]
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