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Lederen for geovitenskap, Beda Hofmann, er en internasjonal autoritet innen meteorittforskning. Han gjorde seg bemerket med sine søkekampanjer på Twannberg og i Oman, som avdekket en rekke viktige funn.
For rundt 200 000 år siden må det ha regnet jernbiter over Twannberg og de tilstøtende Jurafjellene. Og i store mengder. Forskere fra Natural History Museum i Bern (NMBE) og Physics Institute ved Universitetet i Bern, samt en rekke private meteorittsamlere, har kjempet i området nord for Bielsjøen de siste årene1000 fragmenter av en asteroidefunnet. «Jagerne av den tapte skatten», som NMBE kjærlig kalte det mangfoldige forskningsmannskapet i en spesialutstilling om Twannberg-meteoritten, var spesielt vellykkede på og rundt Mont Sujet, der de identifiserte et stort sett intakt strødd felt. På grunn av rusk som er tilstede, anses det som sikkert at asteroiden hadde en diameter på 4 til 20 meter før eksplosjonen og veide minst 250 tonn. "Et funn som dette rett utenfor dørstokken vår er et absolutt lykketreff," sier begeistretI motsetning til Hofmann.
I 1984, da en bonde fant det første fragmentet på en åker, var det fortsatt ingenting som tydet på et stort hagl av steiner i for lengst. Det krevde utholdenheten og nysgjerrigheten til Marc Jost, som fant en annen rest av jernmeteoritten på en avrettingsmasse og først da begynte å bli interessert i meteoritter. Det tilfeldige funnet gjorde den utdannede snekkerenMeteorittjeger. Han spilte en stor rolle i oppdagelsen av Twannberg-meteoritten. Ikke bare fordi han streifet rundt i området i årevis med spade og metalldetektor og fant en rekke brikker – takket være hans kontakter i meteorittjegerscenen deltok totalt over 50 samlere fra hele verden i letearbeidet. For at denne vitenskapelige sensasjonen i det hele tatt skulle dukke opp, krevdes det imidlertid utallige andre deltakere: Manuel Eggimann og Hannes Weiss gjorde en stor serie funn i Twannbach-juvet. Dette førte til at Hofmann innså at en jernmeteorittregn en gang hadde falt i Twannberg-regionen. Han overtok ledelsen av en gruppe forskere og meteorittsamlere som sammen dro på jakt etter skjulte steiner. I årene 2014 til 2016 ble det gjennomført fem søkekampanjer, som ikke bare var svært vellykkede, men også styrket gjensidig respekt. "Vi ville aldri ha gjort så mange funn uten utholdenheten og utholdenheten til samlerne, hvorav noen brukte utallige timer og dager på egenhånd," sier Hofmann.
NMBE presenterte noen av fragmentene på den ettårige spesialutstillingen om Twannberg-meteoritten, som ble avsluttet i august 2017. Det var det foreløpige høydepunktet for et prosjekt som kunne flyttes mot Lake Neuchâtel i overskuelig fremtid. "Det kan være en sjanse til å gjøre flere store funn der," sier Hofmann.
Twannberg-meteoritten
Hva gjør Twannberg-meteoritten så ekstraordinær:
- I Sveits er den den største av de åtte kjente meteorittene; samtidig er det den eneste som det er flere fragmenter fra - det vil si at et herrefelt er kjent.
- Han er en av europeernestørste meteorittstrødde felt.
- Sammen med Morasko (Polen) og Muonionalusta (Sverige) utgjør den et av de viktigste jernstrødde feltene i Europa.
- Den består av jern med en spesielt lav andel nikkel. Det er bare seks eksemplarer av denne typen meteoritt på verdensbasis. De ble skapt rundt 2 millioner år etter fødselen av solsystemet4,567 milliarder år.
Oman-prosjektet
Beda Hofmann har funnet det ideelle stedet å unnslippe den lokale vinteren i noen uker. Når trærne er stive av kulde, er han på en ørkenekspedisjon. Siden 2001 har hans tørst etter forskning ført ham til ørkenene i Oman eller Saudi-Arabia, hvor han leter etter steiner fra verdensrommet, akkompagnert av et stort team. Utfluktene har et eventyrlig preg. Med terrengkjøretøy drar vi til et område som er større enn Sveits. I løpet av dagen bruker forskere timer på å lete etter utenomjordisk stein. Om kvelden bivuakker gruppen et sted i ørkenen. Folk sover på enkle feltsenger utendørs – ved temperaturer som noen ganger er like over null grader.
De utblåste kalksteinsjordene i Oman-ørkenen er et ideelt aktivitetsfelt for forskerne, fordi de svarte steinene, småsteinene og smulene i den lyse sanden kan oppdages med det blotte øye. Samlingen til forskningsgruppen ledet av Hofmann og hans Genève-kollega Edwin Gnos er nå tilsvarende omfattende. For øyeblikket (2017) teller Oman-meteoritt-spesialsamlingen, som anses som unik, over 6000 steinprøver. "Det er ingen sammenlignbar samling fra en varm ørkenregion noe sted i verden," sier Hofmann. De rundt 1000 fallhendelsene, som kan bevises takket være de tallrike funnene, tilsvarer omtrent antallet fallhendelser som har blitt observert hvor som helst på jorden de siste 200 årene. I tillegg til noen spektakulære funn, har turene til Oman og nabolandet Saudi-Arabia også resultert i betydelig vitenskapelig produksjon. Hofmann har lagret rundt 30 publikasjoner i fagtidsskrifter, over 70 presentasjoner og et titalls universitetsavhandlinger i en database.
En slutt på forskningsprosjektet, som har vært offisielt støttet av Sultanatet i Oman siden starten, er foreløpig ikke i sikte. Hittil (2017) har meteorittforskere kun systematisk søkt i underkant av tre prosent av hele operasjonsområdet på rundt 50 000 km2. Derfor er det stor sannsynlighet for at Hofmann vil tilbringe flere måneder i ørkenen.
De 5 viktigste funnene i Oman
- Sayh al Uhaymir (SaU) 094,Marmeteorit, 223 g, funnet 2001-02-08. Dette stykket er en del av et strødd felt fra flere Mars-meteoritter.
- Sayh al-Uhaymir (SaU) 169,Mondmeteorit, 206 g, funnet 2002-02-16. Denne meteoritten består av såkalt KREEP-materiale, som var det siste som krystalliserte seg da månen frøs. KREEP er sterkt anriket på uran og thorium.
- Shisr 043,jernmeteoritt, 8,4 kg, funnet 2003-01-21. Det er den eneste ferske jernmeteoritten fra Oman til dags dato blant mer enn 3900 eksemplarer i Meteoritical Society-databasen.
- Spredt felt Jiddat al Harasis (JaH) 073, oppdaget i januar 2002. Stor steinete meteorregn (Chrondrite L6) før ca.15 000 år, som dekket et område på 19 ganger 6 kilometer.
- Jiddat al Harasis (JaH) 091 strødd felt oppdaget i oktober 2002.Største herreløse felt i Oman, med en lengde på 52 kilometer også en av de virkelig store i verden. De mer enn 700 steinene som er funnet sammen veier minst 4,5 tonn. Høsthendelsen har samme omfang som steinregnet som falt 15. februar 2013 i regionen i den russiske byen Chelyabinsk.
Viktige sveitsiske utstillinger
Rafruti:Rafrüti er den første meteoritten funnet i Sveits. Finneren var bonden Andreas Zürcher i 1886, som kom over en rusten jernblokk mens han gravde opp en potetåker i Lüderenalp-området. I årevis brukte den fattige bondefamilien den tunge klumpen som radiator. Først da ungdomsskolelæreren Fritz Wiedmer fra Wasen i Emmental fikk vite om den sjeldne steinen, begynte ting å røre på seg. Meteoritten kom i Naturhistorisk museums eie rundt 1900 via den driftige postmannen Fritz Meister. Stykket har en masse på omtrent 18,2 kilo. Den har det laveste iridiuminnholdet av noen kjent jernmeteoritt.
La oss:Ulmiz er en steinmeteoritt. De 10 fragmentene med en totalvekt på 76,5 gram er en del av en steinmeteoritt som traff forplassen til en gård i Ulmiz juledag 1926. Den består hovedsakelig av mineralene olivin og enstatitt.
Utzenstorf:Steinmeteoritten Utzenstorf består av tre deler med en totalvekt på 3.422 kilo. Det er en kondritt med hovedmineralene olivin, enstatitt, nikkeljern og troilite. Bitene kommer fra et tilfelle som ble observert 16. august 1928 i Utzenstorf.
Svart skjønnhet:unik Mars-meteoritt (NWA 7906, 7907 paret med NWA 7034). Black Beautys reise begynte for millioner av år siden på Mars. En dag traff en asteroide der og katapulterte steinen ut i verdensrommet. Så mye at den ikke falt tilbake til den røde planeten, men tok veien mot jorden og landet til slutt i Vest-Sahara-regionen. Den ble funnet her av en beduin som solgte steinen til Marc Jost, en meteorittsamler fra Bern, i Marokko. Fordi Black Beauty er en absolutt sjeldenhet, var NMBE forberedt på å grave dypt i lommen deres – kjøpet ble gjort mulig takket være støtte fra museumsforeningen. Anskaffelsen av meteoritten, som veier litt over 80 gram, kostet 165.000 franc. Beda Hofmann forventer at Black Beauty vil holde ham og forskerteamet hans opptatt i flere tiår fremover. "Det vil absolutt gi oss innsikt i Mars som så langt har vært skjult for oss."
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FAQs
What is the largest natural history collection in the world? ›
The American Museum of Natural History is the largest natural history museum in the world. Its collection totals over 30 million items.
How many natural history museums are there in the US? ›There are roughly 200 natural history museums across the U.S., not including the big daddies in New York and D.C. Some are barely bigger than a schoolroom, while others are sprawling, multimillion-dollar palaces that house some of the country's most precious natural artifacts.
What would you find in a natural history museum? ›A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more.
How many natural history museums are there in India? ›India is blessed with the presence of 8 such natural history museums across its prominent cities.
What is the largest natural history museum in the US? ›The American Museum of Natural History is the largest natural history museum in the world with a mission commensurately monumental in scope. The entire museum spans 4 city blocks and consists of some 25 interconnected buildings.
What is the biggest history museum in the US? ›National Museum of American History.
What city has the best natural history museum? ›With more than 35 million specimens and exhibits that tell the story of the Earth over 4.5 billion years, the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles is the largest natural history museum in the western United States. For museum lovers and those traveling with children, this is a must-see!
What is the most interesting thing in the natural history museum? ›Comprising several buildings, the most interesting is the Cocoon containing the UK Diodiversity lab. It is also home to the Entomology department studying the museum's bugs.
Which U.S. state has the most museums? ›When it comes to state breakdowns, California has the most museums, with nearly 3,000.
Which is better British museum or Natural History Museum? ›There are hundreds of Natural History Museums around the world, including two in your own province, the Royal Alberta and the Royal Tyrrell. London's Natural History Museum may be one of the world's greatest but, unless you are a "collector" of natural history museums, I'd suggest the British Museum.
Can you just turn up at the Natural History Museum? ›
“Do you have to book or can you turn up? ” You can just turn up.
Where is Dippy the dinosaur? ›The original skeleton is housed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, USA. There are several Dippy casts held at institutions around the world, though the one displayed in the Museum's Hintze Hall from 1979-2017 was the first to be made and to go on public display.
Where is the largest natural history museum in the world? ›New York's American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest in the world, with 33 million specimens inside. It's also one of the world's most visited — along with, but not to be confused with, the Smithsonian's natural history museum in DC.
Where is the oldest Indian Museum? ›Founded in 1814 at the cradle of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (at the present building of the Asiatic Society, 1 Park Street, Kolkata), Indian Museum is the earliest and the largest multipurpose Museum not only in the Indian subcontinent but also in the Asia-Pacific region of the world.
How popular is the natural history museum? ›We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually.
What is the largest US Army museum? ›The National Museum of the United States Army is the official museum for the history of the United States Army and is just outside Washington, D.C.
What is the largest free art museum in the US? ›The Smithsonian has the distinction of being the world's largest museum complex, with more than a dozen free museums in Washington, DC, alone. Many of them are located around the National Mall, including the Air and Space Museum, the American History Museum and the Natural History Museum.
What is the oldest museum in America? ›Downtown Charleston. Founded in 1773, The Charleston Museum, America's First Museum, has been discovering, preserving, interpreting, celebrating, and sharing ever since.
What are the oldest US museums? ›The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is the oldest continuously-operating public art museum in the United States, opening its doors to the public in 1844. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art was founded by Daniel Wadsworth, one of the first major American art patrons.
What is the largest outdoor museum in the United States? ›OLD WORLD WISCONSIN (Eagle, Wisconsin) Opened in 1976, Old World Wisconsin is the largest outdoor museum in the world dedicated to the history of rural life. To build it, researchers traveled all over the state in search of historic farmhouses, outbuildings, and small-town structures.
Which US city has the best museums? ›
The nation's most iconic museums are in Washington DC, like the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of Natural History. Other notable museums include the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
What is the nearest underground for natural history museum? ›The nearest Tube station is South Kensington, about a five-minute walk from the Museum's main entrance on Cromwell Road. Piccadilly, District and Circle line trains stop at South Kensington.
What is the largest historical museum in the world? ›The Louvre, Paris
By size, The Louvre, in Paris, France is the largest museum on Earth, with nearly 73,000 square metres of exhibition space. By reputation, it's also one of the best and holds works from antiquity to the 19th Century, including the world-famous Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa.
A much-loved former resident of London Zoo, this western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) lived there from 1947 until his death in 1978. A gentle giant, Guy was known for his placid nature and received hundreds of birthday cards each year. Guy now resides in the Museum and remains a crowd magnet.
Is the whale at the Natural History Museum? ›The hall is home to one of the Museum's most celebrated displays—a 94-foot-long, 21,000-pound model of a blue whale suspended from the ceiling. It was in the ocean about 3.5 billion years ago that the first life on Earth arose.
Are the animals in the Natural History Museum real NYC? ›Most of them are authentic, taxidermied animals. They were created with great care, with sculptures based on the animals' musculature and the surrounding dioramas based on their environment. Other examples, like the Blue Whale, are models, and not taxidermy.
What is the most creative state in America? ›| Overall Rank* | State | WalletHub State Innovation Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 77.12 |
| 2 | Massachusetts | 75.48 |
| 3 | Washington | 67.39 |
| 4 | Maryland | 65.11 |
1. The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Where is the most visited museum in the world? ›| Name | Location | Visitors in 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Louvre | Paris, France | 7,726,321 |
| Vatican Museums | Vatican City | 5,080,866 |
| Natural History Museum | London, United Kingdom | 4,654,608 |
| British Museum | London, United Kingdom | 4,097,253 |
The Rosetta Stone is the Museum's most popular exhibit, so don't leave without seeing it for yourself.
Why is the British Museum so popular? ›
The first national public museum of the world. The British Museum is unique in bringing together under one roof the cultures of the world, spanning continents and oceans. No other museum is responsible for collections of the same depth and breadth, beauty and significance.
Where is Titanosaur displayed? ›101 million years in the making, Patagotitan mayorum has arrived at London's Natural History Museum, the home of the dinosaur. Join us at this showstopper exhibition and be awed by nature as we journey across the life of a titanosaur and learn all about the larger side of life.
How much is the British Museum? ›Tickets to the permanent collection are free. You can book tickets up to a maximum of nine people in your group.
Are museum free in London? ›Most of London's major museums – as well as many of its smaller institutions and literally every commercial gallery – are free to enter, so you can see world-class art and artefacts without getting out your wallet.
Why is dippy so famous? ›When Dippy, the Museum's much-loved Diplodocus, was revealed to the public in 1905 they became an instant star, featuring in news reports and cartoons. Dippy went on to appear on TV and to inspire Disney's One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing.
What replaced Dippy at the Natural History Museum? ›Move to Hintze Hall
Dippy was removed from the Reptile Gallery in 1979 and repositioned as the centrepiece of the main central hall of the museum, later renamed the Hintze Hall in recognition of a large donation by Michael Hintze.
Hope's story begins in 1891 when she was found beached off the coast of Ireland. A lucrative find for a local fisherman, her skeletal remains were sold to the Museum. The project to restore her took three years to complete, including 10 months of painstaking laboratory work to clean and repair 221 bones.
What is the largest animal in the natural history museum? ›Since its arrival at the Museum in the 1880s, the blue whale skeleton has been part of an ever-expanding scientific collection. The whale is the largest specimen in the Museum's collection of more than 80 million objects from around the globe.
What is the biggest geology museum? ›The National Museum of Natural History
It is home to over 350,000 rock and mineral specimens and has the largest gem collection in the world.
Come face-to-face with the largest dinosaur that ever lived.
Named Máximo, meaning “maximum” or “most” in Spanish, our titanosaur cast reaches 122 feet across Stanley Field Hall on our main floor and stands 28 feet tall at the head.
What was the first museum in the world? ›
Travel back in time while visiting some of the oldest museums in Europe: - The Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini, also in the picture above), the oldest public collection of art in the world, began in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated a group of important ancient sculptures to the people of Rome.
Why is Indian Museum famous? ›It is the ninth oldest museum in the world and the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies and Mughal paintings.
What is the largest American Indian Museum? ›A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex.
What is the oldest natural history museum in the world? ›The Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, established in Paris in 1635, was the first natural history museum to take the form that would be recognized as a natural history museum today.
What was the Natural History Museum before it was a museum? ›The Natural History Museum first opened its doors on 18 April 1881, providing a permanent home for the ever-growing collection of natural history specimens originally housed in the British Museum. Richard Owen, the first superintendent, envisaged a cathedral to nature that anyone could visit for free.
What is the largest collection of museums in the world? ›The Smithsonian Museum is the largest complex of museums in the world, with 19 different galleries and museums spread across the United States, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African Art and the National Air and Space Museum.
Which museum has the most ancient collection? ›1. Capitoline Museum. The Capitoline Museum, or Musei Capitolini, is very probably the world's oldest museum. Located in Rome, just a stone's throw from the Colosseum, the museum houses a fantastic collection of classical art and archaeology.
Who possesses the largest collection of artefacts in the world? ›The British Museum currently holds eight million pieces of history, art, and cultural artifacts. This collection is the largest in existence around the entire world.
What is the most interesting thing in the Natural History Museum? ›Comprising several buildings, the most interesting is the Cocoon containing the UK Diodiversity lab. It is also home to the Entomology department studying the museum's bugs.
What is the largest archaeological museum in the world? ›The Grand Egyptian Museum, the World's Largest Archaeological Institution, Is Opening This Year.
What is the richest museum in the world? ›
The Getty, the world's richest museum, hunts for wealthy patrons.
What is the biggest museum in North America? ›In North America, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York can boast the largest floor space of any single institution, as well as two million objects in their collection.
What is the oldest man made object in museum? ›The world's oldest human figure, Museum of Blaubeuren. Made from mammoth ivory, the Venus of Hohle Fels is the oldest undisputed example of a depiction of a human being.
What museums have the most stolen artifacts? ›The top culprit: The British Museum
Perhaps no single museum is as notoriously guilty of looting, though, as London's British Museum. The iconic institution houses hundreds of thousands of pieces of world history.
- Most famous artifact: The Funerary Mask Of King Tutankhamun.
- Most valuable ancient Egyptian artifact: The Rosetta Stone.
- Most valuable religious artifact: The Dead Sea Scrolls.
- Largest artifact: The Terracotta Army.
- Most mysterious artifact: The London Hammer.
1. Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone is one of the most important discoveries from the ancient world. French soldiers participating in Napoleon's Egyptian campaign found it in 1799 along the Nile River.
What is the oldest artifact ever found? ›Lomekwi Stone Tools – 3.3 Million Years. According to multiple records, the stone tools found at Lomekwi 3, an archeological site in Kenya, are the oldest artifacts in the world today. These tools are estimated to date as far back as 3.3 million years, long before the evolution of humans.