International Space Science Institute ISSI

13/10/2026

PRESS RELEASE:
🪐 Planetary systems come in two families, and the host star decides which one is born.

An ISSI International Team led by Diederik Kruijssen analysed 300 well-characterised systems: wide, massive, dynamically violent ones around metal-rich stars vs. compact "peas-in-a-pod" ones around Sun-like or lighter stars.

Out now in Nature Astronomy 👇
https://www.issibern.ch/planetary-systems-two-distinct-families-the-host-star-leaves-its-signature/


INAF

Discover how planetary systems form in spiral galaxies filled with young stars and vibrant star-forming regions.

29/09/2026

This International Team - led by R. D'Amicis & M. Velli - is investigating the solar sources ☀️ and evolution of the Alfvénic slow wind.

Using observations from Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter, together with next-generation models, the team is studying how waves and turbulence help the solar wind escape the Sun’s magnetic field and form the heliosphere.
Their results show that while fast solar-wind streams are broadly similar, slower streams differ depending on where and how they originate. Alfvénic slow wind is linked to small, rapidly expanding open magnetic regions, whereas non-Alfvénic slow wind can escape through magnetic instabilities and reconnection.



➡️ https://teams.issibern.ch/alfvenicslowwind/

28/09/2026

☕ Coffee-break read for scientists

Astronauts have the Overview effect. Aquanauts have the Underview effect. What about the rest of us?

This new ISSI piece argues that researchers have a version of their own: the Inner-view effect, that moment when scattered facts click into one coherent picture. ... Would you agree?

⏱ About 7 minutes, roughly one cup.
👉 https://www.issibern.ch/the-overview-the-underview-and-the-inner-view/

Discover the inner-view effect: an exploration of interconnectedness seen through the lens of research and nature.

28/09/2026

ISSI's International Team 24-611, led by Joo Hwang, is working on the Kelvin–Helmholtz Instability/Wave Investigation (KHIWI).

The KHIWI team is exploring one of nature’s favourite ways to make trouble: velocity shear and the vortices it creates.

These vortices are everywhere, from wind blowing over water to heliospheric boundaries. Nature apparently really likes spinning things up! 🌀

The team is investigating how Kelvin–Helmholtz instability develops and evolves across a wide range of scales, and how it contributes to solar-wind transport and magnetospheric dynamics — not only at our home planet, but also across magnetised and unmagnetised planetary environments.

So, we follow the vortices — wherever they decide to take us. 🌀 🚀

27/09/2026

The Moon 🌔
Past, Present & Future

From how the Moon formed and evolved, to the mysteries scientists are investigating today and the new era of lunar exploration ahead,
..come join us for the next Astronomy on Tap ⨉ ISSI event !
(*drink and listen at free will! 😇)

📍Stellwerk Bern
🕗 Wednesday, 30. September • 19:00 - 22:00
🧑‍🚀 Claire Nichols, Guido Schwarz, and Andreas Riedo

Click here for the free entry:

Explore our nearest celestial neighbour — from its ancient past to the science and exploration shaping its future.

19/09/2026

Climate change is also impacting the middle and upper atmosphere.

ISSI International Team #631, led by Juan Añel, is investigating the impacts and monitoring it. The team’s work focuses on three main areas:

- better quantifying how increasing CO₂ emissions contribute to changes in atmospheric density
- improving observations of the middle and upper atmosphere using satellites, sounding rockets, lidars and radars, where direct measurements remain limited
- assessing how the growing number of space launches and spacecraft re-entries may affect atmospheric composition.

More details about the team's work: https://teams.issibern.ch/climatechangeatmosphere/

16/09/2026

Call for the 2027 Johannes Geiss Fellowship is released!

Apply by October 9, 2026 for the opportunity to conduct independent research (Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Planetary or Earth Sciences) in Bern, Switzerland.

🔭

Details and Application

The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern, Switzerland invites applications for the 2027 Johannes Geiss Fellowship (JGF). With this fellowship ISSI honours the memory of Johannes Geiss, the founder of ISSI, and his contributions to the space sciences.