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Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 27.03.2023 
How football-shaped molecules occur in the universe
For a long time it has been suspected that fullerene and its derivatives could form naturally in the universe. These are large carbon molecules shaped like a football, salad bowl or nanotube. An international team of researchers using the Swiss SLS synchrotron light source at PSI has shown how this reaction works.
Astronomy / Space Science - 14.02.2023 
Four classes of planetary systems
A team of researchers reveals that the distribution of planets can be organised in four different ways around a star. Astronomers have long been aware that planetary systems are not necessarily structured like our solar system. Researchers from the Universities of Bern and Geneva, as well as from the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS, have now shown for the first time that there are in fact four types of planetary systems.
Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 23.01.2023 
James Webb Space Telescope identifies origins of icy building blocks of life
Interstellar molecular clouds are considered to be the birth sites of planetary systems. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, an international research team including the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS discovered the deepest and coldest ice ever detected in such a molecular cloud.
Astronomy / Space Science - 18.01.2023 
Tumultuous migration on the edge of the Hot Neptune Desert
A team from the University of Geneva reveals the eventful migration history of planets bordering the Hot Neptune Desert, these extrasolar planets that orbit very close to their star. All kinds of exoplanets orbit very close to their star. Some look like the Earth, others like Jupiter. Very few, however, are similar to Neptune.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 03.01.2023 
Life on alien worlds
Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? There's a good chance it does - though it might look very different to life on Earth. Scientists may soon be able to offer a definitive answer. Twenty-seven years ago, at the University of Geneva, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz - now a professor at ETH - discovered the first extrasolar planet orbiting a Sun-like star.
Astronomy / Space Science - Physics - 29.11.2022 
Small asteroids are probably young
The impact experiment conducted on the asteroid Ryugu by the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission which took place two years ago resulted in an unexpectedly large crater. With the use of simulations, a team led by the University of Bern and the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has recently succeeded in gaining new insights from the experiment regarding the formation and development of asteroids.
Astronomy / Space Science - Chemistry - 22.11.2022 
James Webb reveals the atmospheric secrets of an exoplanet
Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team including scientists is building a complete picture of the atmosphere of the planet WASP-39b. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its unparalleled images of our Universe offer us a new first: by combining several instruments, it draws a molecular and chemical portrait of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-39b.
Physics - Astronomy / Space Science - 09.11.2022 
Searching for traces of dark matter with neutron spin clocks
With the use of a precision experiment developed at the University of Bern, an international research team has succeeded in significantly narrowing the scope for the existence of dark matter. The experiment was carried out at the European Research Neutron Source at the Institute Laue-Langevin in France, and makes an important contribution to the search for these particles, of which little remains known.
Astronomy / Space Science - 02.11.2022 
Gamma Columbae: the story of a cosmic striptease
A research team supported by the SNSF and including scientists from the UNIGE has studied the particular properties of the star Gamma Columbae. It is believed to be a binary star whose core has been exposed. A bright star visible to the naked eye, but until recently a star that was of no particular interest to scientists.
Earth Sciences - Astronomy / Space Science - 27.10.2022 
What seismic waves reveal about Martian crust
Following two large meteorite impacts on Mars, researchers have observed, for the first time, seismic waves propagating along the surface of a planet other than Earth. The data from the marsquakes was recorded by NASA's InSight lander and analysed at ETH Zurich in collaboration with the InSight Science Team.
Earth Sciences - Astronomy / Space Science - 27.10.2022 
Magma on Mars likely
Until now, Mars has been generally considered a geologically dead planet. An international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich now reports that seismic signals indicate vulcanism still plays an active role in shaping the Martian surface. Why study the terrestrial neighbour? Exploring Earth's planetary neighbours is no easy task.
Astronomy / Space Science - 13.10.2022 
Espresso detects barium in the atmosphere of an exoplanet
The spectrograph developed by the UNIGE has enabled the discovery of the heaviest element ever detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. An international team including researchers from the University of Geneva and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has detected the heaviest element ever found in the atmosphere of an exoplanet: barium.
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 22.09.2022 
How global warming affects astronomical observations
Astronomical observations from ground-based telescopes are sensitive to local atmospheric conditions. Anthropogenic climate change will negatively affect some of these conditions at observation sites around the globe, as a team of researchers led by the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS report.
Astronomy / Space Science - 09.09.2022 
A thousand days of CHEOPS
The Swiss space telescope CHEOPS will celebrate its 1000th day in orbit around the Earth on Tuesday 13 September. Its excellent condition will allow it to remain active for several more years. After 1000 days in orbit around the Earth, the CHEOPS space telescope shows almost no signs of wear. Under these conditions, it could continue to reveal the fascinating details of many exoplanets for many years to come.
Astronomy / Space Science - 07.09.2022 
Two new rocky worlds around an ultra-cool star
An international research team, with the participation of the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS, discovered two "super-Earth" exoplanets. One is located at just the right distance from its star to potentially hold liquid water on its surface. Most of the planets that have been discovered around other stars - also known as exoplanets - are bad candidates for life as we know it.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 26.08.2022 
Where to land on the Moon?
With the help of artificial intelligence, an international research team led by ETH Zurich has explored the Moon's permanently shadowed regions. The information they have obtained about the area's surface properties will help to identify suitable locations for future lunar missions. It was 1972 when the last humans landed on the Moon.
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 25.08.2022 
James-Webb detects carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmosphere
The new space telescope has revealed the presence of carbon dioxide on the gas giant WASP-39b. A first in which the UNIGE and UNIBE participated. Launched at the end of 2021 by NASA, with the collaboration of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the James-Webb Space Telescope has delivered an exceptional first scientific result: for the first time, CO2 has been clearly detected in the atmosphere of WASP-39b, a planet located outside the solar system.
Astronomy / Space Science - Environment - 25.08.2022 
James Webb Space Telescope detects carbon dioxide in exoplanet atmosphere
The James Webb Space Telescope delivers a sensation right away with its first scientific result: for the first time, CO2 has been conclusively detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. Researchers from the University of Bern, the University of Geneva and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS are involved in the study.
Astronomy / Space Science - Earth Sciences - 10.08.2022 
One more clue to the Moon’s origin
Researchers from ETH Zurich discover the first definitive proof that the Moon inherited indigenous noble gases from the Earth's mantle. The discovery represents a significant piece of the puzzle towards understanding how the Moon and, potentially, the Earth and other celestial bodies were formed. Humankind has maintained an enduring fascination with the Moon.
Astronomy / Space Science - 13.07.2022 
Neutrino Factories in Deep Outer Space
An international research team reveals for the first time the origin of neutrinos, elementary particles that reach our planet from the depths of the Universe. Highly energetic and difficult to detect, neutrinos travel billions of light years before reaching our planet. Although it is known that these elementary particles come from the depths of our Universe, their precise origin is still unknown.
Astronomy/Space Science
Results 1 - 20 of 187.
For a long time it has been suspected that fullerene and its derivatives could form naturally in the universe. These are large carbon molecules shaped like a football, salad bowl or nanotube. An international team of researchers using the Swiss SLS synchrotron light source at PSI has shown how this reaction works.
A team of researchers reveals that the distribution of planets can be organised in four different ways around a star. Astronomers have long been aware that planetary systems are not necessarily structured like our solar system. Researchers from the Universities of Bern and Geneva, as well as from the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS, have now shown for the first time that there are in fact four types of planetary systems.
Interstellar molecular clouds are considered to be the birth sites of planetary systems. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, an international research team including the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS discovered the deepest and coldest ice ever detected in such a molecular cloud.
A team from the University of Geneva reveals the eventful migration history of planets bordering the Hot Neptune Desert, these extrasolar planets that orbit very close to their star. All kinds of exoplanets orbit very close to their star. Some look like the Earth, others like Jupiter. Very few, however, are similar to Neptune.
Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? There's a good chance it does - though it might look very different to life on Earth. Scientists may soon be able to offer a definitive answer. Twenty-seven years ago, at the University of Geneva, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz - now a professor at ETH - discovered the first extrasolar planet orbiting a Sun-like star.
The impact experiment conducted on the asteroid Ryugu by the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission which took place two years ago resulted in an unexpectedly large crater. With the use of simulations, a team led by the University of Bern and the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has recently succeeded in gaining new insights from the experiment regarding the formation and development of asteroids.
Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team including scientists is building a complete picture of the atmosphere of the planet WASP-39b. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and its unparalleled images of our Universe offer us a new first: by combining several instruments, it draws a molecular and chemical portrait of the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-39b.
With the use of a precision experiment developed at the University of Bern, an international research team has succeeded in significantly narrowing the scope for the existence of dark matter. The experiment was carried out at the European Research Neutron Source at the Institute Laue-Langevin in France, and makes an important contribution to the search for these particles, of which little remains known.
A research team supported by the SNSF and including scientists from the UNIGE has studied the particular properties of the star Gamma Columbae. It is believed to be a binary star whose core has been exposed. A bright star visible to the naked eye, but until recently a star that was of no particular interest to scientists.
Following two large meteorite impacts on Mars, researchers have observed, for the first time, seismic waves propagating along the surface of a planet other than Earth. The data from the marsquakes was recorded by NASA's InSight lander and analysed at ETH Zurich in collaboration with the InSight Science Team.
Until now, Mars has been generally considered a geologically dead planet. An international team of researchers led by ETH Zurich now reports that seismic signals indicate vulcanism still plays an active role in shaping the Martian surface. Why study the terrestrial neighbour? Exploring Earth's planetary neighbours is no easy task.
The spectrograph developed by the UNIGE has enabled the discovery of the heaviest element ever detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. An international team including researchers from the University of Geneva and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has detected the heaviest element ever found in the atmosphere of an exoplanet: barium.
Astronomical observations from ground-based telescopes are sensitive to local atmospheric conditions. Anthropogenic climate change will negatively affect some of these conditions at observation sites around the globe, as a team of researchers led by the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS report.
The Swiss space telescope CHEOPS will celebrate its 1000th day in orbit around the Earth on Tuesday 13 September. Its excellent condition will allow it to remain active for several more years. After 1000 days in orbit around the Earth, the CHEOPS space telescope shows almost no signs of wear. Under these conditions, it could continue to reveal the fascinating details of many exoplanets for many years to come.
An international research team, with the participation of the University of Bern and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS, discovered two "super-Earth" exoplanets. One is located at just the right distance from its star to potentially hold liquid water on its surface. Most of the planets that have been discovered around other stars - also known as exoplanets - are bad candidates for life as we know it.
With the help of artificial intelligence, an international research team led by ETH Zurich has explored the Moon's permanently shadowed regions. The information they have obtained about the area's surface properties will help to identify suitable locations for future lunar missions. It was 1972 when the last humans landed on the Moon.
The new space telescope has revealed the presence of carbon dioxide on the gas giant WASP-39b. A first in which the UNIGE and UNIBE participated. Launched at the end of 2021 by NASA, with the collaboration of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the James-Webb Space Telescope has delivered an exceptional first scientific result: for the first time, CO2 has been clearly detected in the atmosphere of WASP-39b, a planet located outside the solar system.
The James Webb Space Telescope delivers a sensation right away with its first scientific result: for the first time, CO2 has been conclusively detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system. Researchers from the University of Bern, the University of Geneva and the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS are involved in the study.
Researchers from ETH Zurich discover the first definitive proof that the Moon inherited indigenous noble gases from the Earth's mantle. The discovery represents a significant piece of the puzzle towards understanding how the Moon and, potentially, the Earth and other celestial bodies were formed. Humankind has maintained an enduring fascination with the Moon.
An international research team reveals for the first time the origin of neutrinos, elementary particles that reach our planet from the depths of the Universe. Highly energetic and difficult to detect, neutrinos travel billions of light years before reaching our planet. Although it is known that these elementary particles come from the depths of our Universe, their precise origin is still unknown.
