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Stolen comets and free-floating objects
Our Solar System may contain alien comets that were stolen from another star flying past 4.5 billion years ago. Far away in a distant cluster of young stars, a similar close encounter might have also sent the inter-stellar visitor “Oumuamua” flying on its way towards us, and there must be many more of these free-floating […]
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Bern in Space
Bern in Space Berne celebrates 50 years of moon landing – When Buzz Aldrin was the second man to leave the lunar module on 21 July 1969, first he unfurled the solar wind sail of the University of Berne and put it into the bottom of the moon before the American flag. This experiment was […]
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Rare-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 Geneva and members of PlanetS found signatures of gaseous iron and titanium in its atmosphere. Now these researchers have also been able to detect traces of vaporized sodium, magnesium, chromium, […]
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Fantasy Basel: We were there
PlanetS was at the Fantasy Basel! And talked about many things with you!
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The important role of La Silla
By Pierre Bratschi About 80 astronomers were invited by ESO to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the La Silla Observatory. An event that may seem anachronistic in the era of the VLT, the ELT, and of the JWST, indeed what else can we expect from an observatory that has “only” two “small” 3.6m telescopes? How can […]
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La Silla, an observatory with a bright future
Since its inauguration in 1969, ESO’s La Silla Observatory has been at the forefront of astronomy. Its state-of-the-art instruments have enabled astronomers to make fundamental discoveries and paved the way for future generations of telescopes. After 50 years of activity, the La Silla Observatory remains a reference in the field and has recently been given […]
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The surprising paths of astronomy
Many young researchers are concerned about their professional future. In the InsiderS newsletter, we introduce physicists who did not take the direct path to a professorship, but nevertheless made a successful career, like Stéphane Berthet, Vice-Rector of the University of Geneva. Stéphane Berthet was born in Geneva in 1960 and studied in the same city. […]
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“Prepare and practice with passion”
Cécile Bastien Remy calls herself “Public Speaking Jedi – Trainer – Speaker”. At the 5th General Assembly of PlanetS she was invited to give a workshop. “If you are not in a general mindset of giving to your audience, your audience will feel it,” Cécile Bastien Remy says. Nadine Afram, PlanetS: If you could only give […]
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Ask the NCCR
In a workshop at the General Assembly members of the PlanetS Board answered questions about the NCCR. “It’s important that you understand how the system in which you work functions,” said PlanetS Director Willy Benz. Why does PlanetS not offer permanent positions? The NCCR receives money from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), but no […]
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Upcoming workshops
TESS workshop: Tuesday May 21st 2019 @ Geneva Observatory The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, TESS, is these days sweeping the sky searching for transiting exoplanets. The expected yield of more than 1000 planets transiting bright stars will affect every sub-field of exoplanetology; from statistical analysis of planet populations, internal structure models, planet formation theory to […]
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