News
“Science gets more personal thanks to the comic heroes”
Ulrike Kastrup, head of focusTerra, talks about the exhibition “Expedition Sonnensystem” at the ETH museum in Zurich and why she chose comics as a style element to tell the stories. PlanetS: Mrs. Kastrup, you have decided to choose the style element comic strip for the exhibition. What were the reasons for this? Ulrike Kastrup: Because […]
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Thirsty for Space Science
Worldwide Science Slam series «Astronomy on Tap» lands in Bern If talking about astronomy and space science over drinks in a bar sounds like fun to you, you better save these space-time coordinates: April 30th at ONO in Bern. Come to the very first Astronomy on Tap, Bern event to listen to various talks, from […]
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Water during planet formation and evolution
This last February the workshop ‘Water during planet formation and evolution’ took place at the University of Zurich. Grown out of an initiative from junior researchers across the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich and University of Bern, more than 60 international scholars gathered to discuss the crucial role of water on planets in the solar system […]
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CHEOPS rocket sticker selected
A colourful design by Denis Vrenko of Celje, Slovenia, will be featured on the rocket that will launch CHEOPS, the CHaracterising ExOplanets Satellite, into space. Denis Vrenko is a twenty-five year old graphics designer and final-year architecture student at the University of Ljubljana. His design was one of over 300 entries in a competition organised […]
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Comet “Chury’s” late birth
Comets which consist of two parts, like Chury, can form after a catastrophic collision of larger bodies. Such collisions may have taken place in a later phase of our solar system, which suggests that Chury can be much younger than previously assumed. This is shown through computer simulations by an international research group with the […]
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Editorial
Dear PlanetS colleagues, Like for the first 3 editions, the 4th General Assembly of our NCCR in Grindelwald was a success with interesting presentations and workshops, lively discussions, and the renewed friendly ambiance between the participants. For the first time, however, the young members of PlanetS raised some worries about their future, especially in […]
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Provide a gift for everyone
From scientific results to planned projects, from gender issues to rocket construction, and from proposal writing to the life after academia: The program at the General Assembly of the NCCR PlanetS 2018 in Grindelwald was fully packed and provided the 125 participants with material for many discussions. “You can’t do science without money,” stated Dan […]
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A permanent position, the “Holy Grail” for young scientists
By Stéphane Udry Four years after the start of the NCCR, questions about the future are starting to become more pressing for the young astronomers in PlanetS. During the 4th General Assembly, held once again in the beautiful setting of Grindelwald, they raised serious concerns about the future of their career. Will fixed positions be […]
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“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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