Planetary Composition: The Planet Does Not Fall Far From the Star
A compositional link between planets and their respective host star has long been assumed in astronomy. For the first time now, a team of scientists,…
University of Bern
Astrophysicist Derives New Mathematical Solutions to an Old Problem in Astronomy
The Bernese theoretical astrophysicist Kevin Heng has achieved a rare feat: On paper, he has derived novel solutions to an old mathematical problem needed to…
Golden Target: Unique Exoplanet Photobombs CHEOPS Study of Nearby Star System
Photobombs — when something or someone unexpectedly enters a camera’s field of sight during the taking of a photograph — happen every day. Sometimes it…
Scientists Use New Technology to Detect Signatures of Life Remotely
It could be a milestone on the path to detecting life on other planets: Scientists under the leadership of the University of Bern and of…
Ocean Temperature Reconstructed Over the Last 700,000 Years Using Air Bubbles Trapped in Glacier Ice
Researchers from the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Bern have, for the first time, reconstructed mean ocean temperatures over the…
Search for Alien Life: How the Habitability of Exoplanets Is Influenced by Their Rocks
The weathering of silicate rocks plays an important role to keep the climate on Earth clement. Scientists led by the University of Bern and the…
Volcanoes Might Light Up the Night Sky of This Super-Earth Exoplanet
Until now, researchers have found no evidence of global tectonic activity on planets outside our solar system. Under the leadership of the University of Bern…
How Dangerous Are New Mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Virus?
How dangerous are new mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus? An international team involving researchers from the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) of the Federal…
Astronomers Discover Pair of Lonely Exotic 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…
Two Planets Around a Red Dwarf: A “Sub-Neptune” and a “Super-Earth”
The “SAINT-EX” Observatory, led by scientists from the National Centre of Competence in Research NCCR PlanetS of the University of Bern and the University of…
Marine Heatwaves Are Human Made, Over 20 Times More Frequent
Heatwaves in the world’s oceans have become over 20 times more frequent due to human influence. This is what researchers from the Oeschger Centre for…
Vaporized Metal in the Air of an Ultra-Hot Exoplanet
An international team of researchers led by the National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS of the University of Bern and the University of Geneva…
This Device Is the Most Sensitive Instrument in the Search for Life in Space
Researchers at the University of Bern have developed the highly sensitive ORIGIN instrument, which can provide proof of the smallest amounts of traces of life,…
One of the Most Extreme Planets in the Universe Analyzed With CHEOPS Space Telescope
Eight months after the space telescope CHEOPS started its journey into space, the first scientific publication using data from CHEOPS has been issued. CHEOPS is…
Ultraviolet Aurora Phenomenon Discovered on Comet Chury – “The Resulting Glow Is One of a Kind”
In the aurora borealis on Earth, electrically charged particles of the solar wind move along the Earth’s magnetic field. At high latitudes, these strike nitrogen…
Antarctic Ice Core Experts: Current Anthropogenic CO2 Increase Is Unprecedented
A new measurement technology developed at the University of Bern provides unique insights into the climate of the past. Previous CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere…
Scientists Alarmed by Long-Term Effects of Insecticides on Ant Colonies
This week, scientists of the Institute of Bee Health of the University of Bern have published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Communications Biology, which…
First Exposed Planetary Core Discovered – An Extremely Unusual Planet in the So-Called “Neptune Desert”
The newly discovered exoplanet TOI 849 b offers the unique opportunity to peer inside the interior of a planet and learn about its composition. It…