News
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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Iron and titanium in the atmosphere
Metal vapours have been detected in the atmosphere of an “ultra-hot Jupiter” by a team of astronomers led by the UNIGE. Exoplanets, planets in other solar systems, can orbit very close to their host star. When, in addition to this, the host star is much hotter than our Sun, then the exoplanet becomes as hot […]
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Tom Dooley and the young, active sun
Just about 4.5 billion years ago, our sun went through an active phase during which it shone much more brightly than it does today – a conclusion researchers reached after taking measurements at ETH Zurich using a truly unique instrument. The Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology at ETH Zurich is home to an instrument that […]
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Finding a planet with a 10 years orbit in a few months
The method of transits, consisting of detecting a dip in the luminosity of the host star at the time the planet passes, is a very effective technique to search for exoplanets. It makes it possible to estimate the radius of the planet, the inclination of the orbit and can be applied to a large number […]
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Editorial
Dear Reader, Transition – a word one hears often during a world soccer cup. It means bringing the ball forward through the middle field closer to the opponent’s goal. A critical moment in the game during which a generally pre-defined strategy is being executed with the hope to eventually score. It turns out that at […]
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