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Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 01.07.2020 
First exposed planetary core discovered
Researchers led by the University of Warwick have discovered the first exposed core of an exoplanet, which provides an unprecedented glimpse inside the interior of a planet. Christoph Mordasini from the University of Bern is leading the theoretical interpretation of this discovery. The newly discovered exoplanet TOI 849 b offers the unique opportunity to peer inside the interior of a planet and learn about its composition.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 17.06.2020 
Surprising Signal in Dark Matter Detector
When analyzing data from the XENON1T detector for dark matter, a signal excess was observed. The UZH researchers do not yet know for sure where this unexpected signal comes from. They say the origins could be relatively banal, but they could also indicate the existence of new particles or hitherto unknown properties of neutrinos.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 08.06.2020 
First global map of rockfalls on the Moon
A research team from ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen counted over 136,000 rockfalls on the moon caused by asteroid impacts. Even billions of years old landscapes are still changing. In October 2015, a spectacular rockfall occurred in the Swiss Alps: in the late morning hours, a large, snow-covered block with a volume of more than 1500 cubic meters suddenly detached from the summit of Mel de la Niva.
Astronomy / Space Science - 28.05.2020 
Confirmation of Earth-sized planet around the nearest star
The existence of an Earth-sized planet around the nearest star in the solar system, Proxima Centauri, has been confirmed by an international team of scientists including researchers from the University of Geneva. The results, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, reveal that the planet in question, Proxima b, has a mass of 1.17 Earth masses and is located in the habitable zone of its star, which it circles in 11.2 days.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 23.04.2020 
A major step towards the explanation of the matter-antimatter asymmetry
The international T2K Collaboration has published results showing the strongest evidence to date implying the breaking of the symmetry between matter and antimatter in so-called neutrino oscillations. This is a major step towards the understanding of the dominance of matter over antimatter in the Universe.
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 16.04.2020 
CHEOPS space telescope ready for scientific operation
The CHEOPS space telescope has exceeded scientists' expectations for accuracy. CHEOPS has reached its next milestone: Following extensive tests in Earth's orbit, some of which the mission team was forced to carry out from home due to the coronavirus crisis, the space telescope has been declared ready for science.
Astronomy / Space Science - 16.04.2020 
Astronomy: six planets (almost) in rythm
An international team lead by researchers of the University of Geneva has discovered a six-planets system. Almost visible to the naked eye in the Draco constellation, the star HD 158259 has been observed for the last seven years by astronomers using the SOPHIE spectrograph. This instrument, installed at the Haute-Provence Observatory in the South of France, acquired three hundred measurements of the star.
Astronomy / Space Science - Materials Science - 12.03.2020 
Puzzle about nitrogen solved thanks to cometary analogues
One of the basic building blocks of life is nitrogen. An international consortium was able to detect ammonium salt containing nitrogen on the cometary surface of Chury thanks to a method using analogues for comet material. The method on which the study on the detection of ammonium salt is based was developed at the University of Bern.
Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 11.03.2020 
Iron rain in the evening on a giant exoplanet
An international team of astronomers, led by UNIGE, has discovered a planet where it rains iron. Thanks to a new instrument conceived by the University of Geneva , Switzerland, and set at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), an international team of researchers, led by UNIGE, has observed a planet featuring iron rains.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 10.03.2020 
Solved: the mystery of the expansion of the universe
A researcher from the University of Geneva has solved a scientific controversy about the speed of the expansion of the universe by suggesting that it is not totally homogeneous on a large scale. The earth, solar system, entire Milky Way and the few thousand galaxies closest to us move in a vast "bubble" that is 250 million light years in diameter, where the average density of matter is half as large as for the rest of the universe.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 28.02.2020 
Tracking down the mystery of matter
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have measured a property of the neutron more precisely than ever before. In the process they found out that the elementary particle has a significantly smaller electric dipole moment than was previously assumed. With that, it has also become less likely that this dipole moment can help to explain the origin of all matter in the universe.
Environment - Astronomy / Space Science - 25.02.2020 
CO2 tracking in space
CO2 concentrations in the air continue to rise rapidly, and a rapid reduction in man-made emissions is becoming increasingly important. In order to assess the effectiveness of political measures, timely and reliable emission levels are needed. However, current methods are costly. The European Space Agency ESA is therefore working on the development of new satellites which will be able to determine CO2 emissions in the future - with the help of Empa.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 24.02.2020 
The seismicity of Mars
Fifteen months after the successful landing of the NASA InSight mission on Mars, first scientific analyses of ETH Zurich researchers and their partners reveal that the planet is seismically active. The recorded data enables a better understanding of the interior of Mars, the primary goal of the InSight mission.
Astronomy / Space Science - Economics / Business - 07.02.2020 
CHEOPS space telescope takes its first pictures
Next milestone in the commissioning of CHEOPS: After the successful opening of the space telescope cover on January 29, 2020, CHEOPS has now taken its first images of the sky. CHEOPS is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland, led by the University of Bern, in collaboration with the University of Geneva.
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 20.01.2020 
The salt of the comet
Under the leadership of astrophysicist Kathrin Altwegg, Bernese researchers have found an explanation for why very little nitrogen could previously be accounted for in the nebulous covering of comets: the building block for life predominantly occurs in the form of ammonium salts, the occurrence of which could not previously be measured.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 15.01.2020 
Interstellar journey of life’s building block phosphorus unveiled
Phosphorus, present in our DNA and cell membranes, is an essential element for life. But how it became available on the early Earth when life appeared here about 4 billion years ago is something of a mystery. For the first time, astronomers - among them researchers from the University of Bern - have now been able to show that molecules with phosphorus are formed in star-forming regions and probably came to Earth with comets.
Astronomy / Space Science - 13.01.2020 
Meteorite contains the oldest material on Earth
Researchers determined the age of stardust from a meteorite to be seven billion years - the oldest solid material ever found on Earth. Stars have life cycles. They're born when bits of dust and gas floating through space find each other and collapse in on each other and heat up. They burn for millions to billions of years, and then they die.
Astronomy / Space Science - 08.01.2020 
Cosmic magnifying glasses show faster expanding universe
New measurements using gravitational lensing, an innovative method that EPFL researchers have been working on for many years, suggest the universe is expanding faster than previously thought. A team of astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have announced that the universe is expanding faster than expected.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 08.01.2020 
A neural network as an anchor point
Quantum mechanics is a well-established theory, but at a macroscopic level it leads to intractable contradictions. Now ETH physicists are proposing to resolve the problem with the aid of neural networks. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Astronomy / Space Science - 18.12.2019 
CHEOPS launched successfully
Following the successful launch of CHEOPS, and once routine tests of the satellite in orbit have been completed, operations are set to begin at the end of March 2020 and last around four years.
Astronomy/Space Science
Results 1 - 20 of 111.
Researchers led by the University of Warwick have discovered the first exposed core of an exoplanet, which provides an unprecedented glimpse inside the interior of a planet. Christoph Mordasini from the University of Bern is leading the theoretical interpretation of this discovery. The newly discovered exoplanet TOI 849 b offers the unique opportunity to peer inside the interior of a planet and learn about its composition.
When analyzing data from the XENON1T detector for dark matter, a signal excess was observed. The UZH researchers do not yet know for sure where this unexpected signal comes from. They say the origins could be relatively banal, but they could also indicate the existence of new particles or hitherto unknown properties of neutrinos.
A research team from ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen counted over 136,000 rockfalls on the moon caused by asteroid impacts. Even billions of years old landscapes are still changing. In October 2015, a spectacular rockfall occurred in the Swiss Alps: in the late morning hours, a large, snow-covered block with a volume of more than 1500 cubic meters suddenly detached from the summit of Mel de la Niva.
The existence of an Earth-sized planet around the nearest star in the solar system, Proxima Centauri, has been confirmed by an international team of scientists including researchers from the University of Geneva. The results, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, reveal that the planet in question, Proxima b, has a mass of 1.17 Earth masses and is located in the habitable zone of its star, which it circles in 11.2 days.
The international T2K Collaboration has published results showing the strongest evidence to date implying the breaking of the symmetry between matter and antimatter in so-called neutrino oscillations. This is a major step towards the understanding of the dominance of matter over antimatter in the Universe.
The CHEOPS space telescope has exceeded scientists' expectations for accuracy. CHEOPS has reached its next milestone: Following extensive tests in Earth's orbit, some of which the mission team was forced to carry out from home due to the coronavirus crisis, the space telescope has been declared ready for science.
An international team lead by researchers of the University of Geneva has discovered a six-planets system. Almost visible to the naked eye in the Draco constellation, the star HD 158259 has been observed for the last seven years by astronomers using the SOPHIE spectrograph. This instrument, installed at the Haute-Provence Observatory in the South of France, acquired three hundred measurements of the star.
One of the basic building blocks of life is nitrogen. An international consortium was able to detect ammonium salt containing nitrogen on the cometary surface of Chury thanks to a method using analogues for comet material. The method on which the study on the detection of ammonium salt is based was developed at the University of Bern.
An international team of astronomers, led by UNIGE, has discovered a planet where it rains iron. Thanks to a new instrument conceived by the University of Geneva , Switzerland, and set at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), an international team of researchers, led by UNIGE, has observed a planet featuring iron rains.
A researcher from the University of Geneva has solved a scientific controversy about the speed of the expansion of the universe by suggesting that it is not totally homogeneous on a large scale. The earth, solar system, entire Milky Way and the few thousand galaxies closest to us move in a vast "bubble" that is 250 million light years in diameter, where the average density of matter is half as large as for the rest of the universe.
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have measured a property of the neutron more precisely than ever before. In the process they found out that the elementary particle has a significantly smaller electric dipole moment than was previously assumed. With that, it has also become less likely that this dipole moment can help to explain the origin of all matter in the universe.
CO2 concentrations in the air continue to rise rapidly, and a rapid reduction in man-made emissions is becoming increasingly important. In order to assess the effectiveness of political measures, timely and reliable emission levels are needed. However, current methods are costly. The European Space Agency ESA is therefore working on the development of new satellites which will be able to determine CO2 emissions in the future - with the help of Empa.
Fifteen months after the successful landing of the NASA InSight mission on Mars, first scientific analyses of ETH Zurich researchers and their partners reveal that the planet is seismically active. The recorded data enables a better understanding of the interior of Mars, the primary goal of the InSight mission.
Next milestone in the commissioning of CHEOPS: After the successful opening of the space telescope cover on January 29, 2020, CHEOPS has now taken its first images of the sky. CHEOPS is a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland, led by the University of Bern, in collaboration with the University of Geneva.
Under the leadership of astrophysicist Kathrin Altwegg, Bernese researchers have found an explanation for why very little nitrogen could previously be accounted for in the nebulous covering of comets: the building block for life predominantly occurs in the form of ammonium salts, the occurrence of which could not previously be measured.
Phosphorus, present in our DNA and cell membranes, is an essential element for life. But how it became available on the early Earth when life appeared here about 4 billion years ago is something of a mystery. For the first time, astronomers - among them researchers from the University of Bern - have now been able to show that molecules with phosphorus are formed in star-forming regions and probably came to Earth with comets.
Researchers determined the age of stardust from a meteorite to be seven billion years - the oldest solid material ever found on Earth. Stars have life cycles. They're born when bits of dust and gas floating through space find each other and collapse in on each other and heat up. They burn for millions to billions of years, and then they die.
New measurements using gravitational lensing, an innovative method that EPFL researchers have been working on for many years, suggest the universe is expanding faster than previously thought. A team of astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have announced that the universe is expanding faster than expected.
Quantum mechanics is a well-established theory, but at a macroscopic level it leads to intractable contradictions. Now ETH physicists are proposing to resolve the problem with the aid of neural networks. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Following the successful launch of CHEOPS, and once routine tests of the satellite in orbit have been completed, operations are set to begin at the end of March 2020 and last around four years.
