Internal Newsletter
“Sometimes, it is not ourselves that we have to focus on”
Tomas Brage is a Professor of Physics at Lund University, Sweden. His research interests are in e.g. Laboratory Astrophysics as well as in Education and Didactics, Research in Physics, Gender and Equal Opportunities, Outreach, and Internationalization. At Lund University, he has led the Gender Certification project and the Core-Value project. In 2012, he has received […]
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Do-it-yourself in Grindelwald
When we visit schools or when schools visit us, we regularly use models or didactic tools to explain astronomical mechanisms. One of the best known is the one that explains the motion of a planet around a star and the motion of the star around the planet, a tool that allows illustrating the radial velocities […]
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How to design a winning poster
With his colourful work Mark Hutchison, postdoc at the University of Bern, won the prize of the best poster presented at the PlanetS General Assembly 2018. Here, he tells us what it takes to make a good poster. By Mark Hutchison The first international conference I attended was a Division of Plasma Physics meeting in […]
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Habitable worlds at ESA
The 51st ESLAB Symposium took place at ESTEC (Nordwijk Netherlands) in early December (4 to 8). This year’s subject was about extreme habitable worlds. A particularly interesting topic for all planetary hunters and those who are looking for habitable worlds that could harbour life. Many themes were discussed during this week: climate on exoplanets, composition […]
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Starmus Festival to come to Bern in 2019
In summer 2019, the first moon landing will celebrate its 50th anniversary. The successful Apollo 11 mission is closely linked with the University of Bern. Due to this anniversary, the renowned Starmus Festival will take place in Bern from 24 to 29 June 2019. It is a festival which brings together science – primarily astronomy […]
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“Writing is very close to my heart”
With two prestigious awards, conferred at the end of 2017, Kevin Heng started an exciting year. The professor at the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) of the University of Bern and member of the NCCR PlanetS received a grant by the European Research Council (ERC) and a writing prize by the American Astronomical Society […]
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Testing a new approach to high-contrast imaging
To directly image exoplanets, coronagraphs are usually used to block the light from the host star. Instead of using a traditional coronagraphic phase mask, Jonas Kühn relies on a new, digital technology. His phase coronagraph is an active optical modulator based on a pixelated liquid crystals display panel. In his laboratory at ETH Zurich, the […]
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About micro-sexism and work-life balance
“At the weekend, only do what you want to do. That can be work, sometimes, but it doesn’t have to be” By Nadine Afram In online interviews (SurveyMonkey) with 5 international female professors in (Astro-) Physics, I wanted to know about, e.g. their experiences with work-life balance, the (least) favorite parts of their jobs, their […]
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“Opening the gate to the universe”
„Professor Michel Mayor, on behalf of the President of the Republic, I hereby appoint you Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.“ With these words, the ambassador of France in Switzerland, Anne Paugam, presented the astrophysicist with a medal that she fastened to his jacket. With a big smile Michel Mayor thanked […]
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Water during planet formation and evolution
In an interdisciplinary workshop, 50 participants will discuss about the effects of water on planets at the Irchel Campus of the University of Zurich from 12–16 February 2018. The registration deadline is 15 November 2017. Hurry up for a last-minute chance. „This workshop is a bottom-up initiative of young PlanetS researchers, supported by some of the […]
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