The online magazine of the University of Bern

Uni Bern Magazin: Thema Matter and the universe

Exoplanets, neutrinos, instruments

Matter and the Universe

Contributions to space missions such as CHEOPS or Juice, leading models of planet formation, search for space debris or novel experimental approaches to detecting elementary particles – the University of Bern gets to the bottom of the really big questions. ESA, NASA and CERN are just three of many partners.

Current

Jupiter moon Europa

NASA mission with Bernese participation

On October 14, 2024, NASA's Europa Clipper mission began its journey to Jupiter's moon Europa. The aim is to investigate if the icy moon currently has habitable conditions. Four researchers from Bern are part of the mission's scientific teams.

Universe

Exoplanet discovered around our neighboring star

Researchers from the University of Bern, the University of Geneva and the NCCR PlanetS have discovered an exoplanet orbiting our neighboring star Barnard. This discovery advances our understanding of planetary systems in our cosmic neighborhood.

Study on "ecological debt"

Heat extremes cause long-term damage to ecosystems

Ecosystems use different strategies to protect themselves from the negative effects of heat extremes. A study by the University of Bern shows: The full extent of the ecological impact only becomes apparent after the end of a heat extreme.

First electron neutrino measurement

New opportunity to explore the universe

A team including researchers from the Laboratory for High Energy Physics at the University of Bern has successfully measured the interaction rates of neutrinos at unprecedented energies using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN.

Space research

New partnership with NASA

A new network of Swiss research institutions teams up with NASA to accelerate the exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Mystery of the sub-Neptunes solved

Media release

A study involving the University of Bern explains the different groups of the most common type of exoplanet, the sub-Neptunes, which are larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune.

People

Participation in ESA mission

Comet research with Bernese instruments

The University of Bern is contributing two instruments to the European Space Agency's (ESA) Comet Interceptor Mission, which is due to set off for a comet in 2029. Martin Rubin explains the importance of this mission for understanding our origins.

Astronomy

The sun in view

Lucia Kleint researches powerful solar storms that can cause major problems on Earth. In a video interview, the active researcher explains why the University of Bern is the perfect place for her research.

Hans Sigrist Prize

Aaron Roth: Pioneer of fair algorithms

In December 2023, the most highly endowed prize of the University of Bern will go to the US computer scientist Aaron Roth. His research aims to incorporate social norms into algorithms and to better protect privacy.

Energy transition

Synergy Grant for Matthias Arenz

Matthias Arenz from the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharm. Sc. and other researchers receives a Synergy Grant from the European Research Council worth 10 million Euros for a project on electrocatalysts for the energy transition.

Space Research

Challenges on the way to Jupiter

Peter Wurz, Nicolas Thomas and Axel Murk have all been involved in the ESA mission Juice from the very beginning. For uniAKTUELL, they look back and talk about the challenges they have already encountered on the way to the largest planet in the solar system and those that still await them.

Space

From vision to mission

The European Space Agency’s Juice space mission is scheduled to start its journey to Jupiter on April 13, 2023, where it will, among other things, search for traces of life on three of Jupiter’s icy moons. The University of Bern is strongly involved in this project. “uniaktuell” introduces some of the local researchers who are working hard on accomplishing the Juice mission.
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