Researchers and collectors have discovered hundreds of meteorite fragments on a field in canton Bern. It’s the largest meteorite find in Switzerland so far and an important one for science. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
More than 30 years ago, a Swiss farmer came across a single piece of a meteorite that fell to earth around 160,000 years earlier. Now, a Bern researcher and a small army of meteorite hunters have found hundreds more pieces. The Twannberg meteorite broke into hundreds of pieces when it entered earth’s atmosphere. It is named after the mountain in Twann, a community in canton Bern, where it was first found.
Experts have estimated it could have broken into more than 1,000 pieces. The fragments that researchers have discovered so far are helping them to better understand the dimensions of the scatter field. It was previously thought to be five kilometres long, but it could in fact be three times that.
More than 100 fragments are available for public viewing at the Bern Natural History Museum.