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How our planets were formed
Terrestrial planets versus gas and ice giants: A new theory explaining why the inner solar system is so different to the outer regions runs counter to the prevailing wisdom. The theory was proposed by an international research group with ETH Zurich participation. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars in the inner solar system are relatively small, […]
Continue Reading2 Postdoctoral Associate positions on exoplanet atmospheres
Applications are invited for 2 Postdoctocal Assosiate positions at the University of Geneva (Department of Astronomy) working with Dr. Monika Lendl on exoplanet atmospheres as part of her SNF Eccellenza research group. Position 1 is focused on studying exoplanet atmospheres using space-based photometric data, obtained primarily by the CHEOPS (Characterizing Exoplanets Satellite) mission. The University […]
Continue ReadingPhD position: Impact of stellar activity on exoplanet atmospheres
Applications are invited for a research assistant (PhD student) position at the University of Geneva (Department of Astronomy) working with Dr. Monika Lendl on exoplanet atmospheres as part of her SNF Eccellenza research group. The PhD project will focus on investigating the impact of stellar phenomena on exoplanet atmospheres and on distinguishing stellar and planetary […]
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One-year launch anniversary of CHEOPS
In its first year in orbit, the CHEOPS space telescope has already revealed details of one of the most extreme exoplanets and showed its maneuverability by evading space debris. CHEOPS is a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland, under the aegis of the University of Bern in collaboration with the University […]
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A pair of lonely planet-like objects born like stars
An international research team led by the University of Bern has discovered an exotic binary system composed of two young planet-like objects, orbiting around each other from a very large distance. Although these objects look like giant exoplanets, they formed in the same way as stars, proving that the mechanisms driving star formation can produce […]
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New insights into Earth’s primeval atmosphere
A team of international scientists, led by the ETH Zurich and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS, has gained new insights into Earth’s atmosphere of 4.5 billion years ago. Their results have implications for the possible origins of life on Earth. Four and a half billion years ago, Earth would have been […]
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What exoplanets have to do with the coronavirus
Astrophysicist Kevin Heng and epidemiologist Christian Althaus have just published a joint study. In an interview with “uniaktuell”, the two researchers explain what the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 has to do with exoplanetary chemistry and what they hope to gain from INPUT, a newly founded interfaculty platform. By Brigit Bucher Astrophysics and […]
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CHEOPS had to avoid space debris
Space debris increasingly threatens rockets, the international space station and satellites. At the beginning of October, the CHEOPS space telescope had to make an evasive manoeuvre due to a piece of Chinese space debris. Such approaches can be extremely dangerous, because objects in Earth orbit shoot through space at many times the speed of a […]
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How giant planets turn gas to metal
New theoretical insights and space mission data have changed our perception of the Solar system’s largest planets. Scientists from the University of Zurich, involved in the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS, have reviewed our current state of knowledge. Earth is a terrestrial planet. It consists of a mostly solid rocky crust and molten […]
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How water explains missing planets
Space exploration telescopes have revealed that planets between the size of 1.3 and 2.4 Earth radii seem to be c comparatively rare. Scientists under the lead of the International Space Science Institute and the National Centre of Competence PlanetS have found a remarkably simple explanation. Since 1995, scientists have found over 4000 planets outside the […]
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