A rare meteorite weighing 7.6kg has been uncovered in Antarctica by a researcher from the Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich, together with scientists from Belgium and the US. They say the stone is of great importance for research.

“Finding a meteorite that’s larger than a fist is extraordinary,” said ETH Zurich earth scientist Maria Schönbächler, who was part of the Antarctica mission. Most meteorites found weigh only about 20 grams, she said.

A meteorite is a solid piece of debris that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon.

“Meteorites are used for planetary exploration,” Schönbächler said. This is because the number of meteorites available for research is extremely limited. In Switzerland, for example, only 11 meteorites have been found since 2018. “That’s why 7.6kg more to analyse is a lot,” she explained.

The research team searched for meteorites in Antarctica from December 2022 to mid-January 2023. Using satellite images and GPS coordinates, they explored the potential of several areas. “Antarctica is suitable for meteorite finds because the black stones are easily visible on the white snow,” Schönbächler said.

She said that due to the migration of the glaciers, new meteorites would continue to be uncovered in the million-year-old ice. In addition to the large meteorite, the researchers also found several smaller ones.

In Brussels

The meteorite was transported frozen to Brussels, where it is being thawed under controlled conditions at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. “There are metals in a meteorite that can rust quickly,” Schönbächler explained. To avoid this, the water has to be drained off immediately during thawing.

Once thawed, the meteorite is precisely dated, she said. “We assume it’s about four-and-a-half billion years old.” The meteorite will then be available for further scientific studies.

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Spring-like temperatures mean Switzerland is marking its warmest turn of the year since measurements began.

New Year’s Eve saw temperatures rise to 20°C in canton Jura. That is 3.7°C more than in 1961, when the warmest New Year's day since measurements began was recorded.

As the weather service Meteonews announced on Saturday, New Year's Eve 2022 in Delsberg, the Jura cantonal capital, also caused the second highest temperature ever measured in December. The small town experienced 23.6 °C in 1989.

Temperatures that are high for the time of year were also measured on Saturday in in Basel-Binningen (16.7 °), St. Gallen (15.1°C) and Adelboden BE (15.5°C).

The weather service had already warned of possible high temperature records on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in several parts of Switzerland. It blames warm air from the subtropics for the unseasonably warm weather.

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Switzerland is one of the ten most important countries in supporting Ukraine, according to former Ukrainian ambassador to Switzerland Artem Rybchenko. However, he says new instruments against oligarch money are needed.

“Our goal is to ensure that Russian oligarchs with money in Switzerland who are involved in this war cannot simply use this money for their hobby or pass it on to their children,” Rybchenko said in an interview with CH Media on Tuesday. “It is only appropriate if it is used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

As of November 25 Switzerland had frozen some CHF7.5 billion ($8 billion) of Russian funds.

But Switzerland’s support for Ukraine is already strong, he said, pointing to the agreed winter aid, the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in the Swiss city of Lugano in July, and support for demining the country and the construction of shelters.

Rybchenko was also full of praise for Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who held the rotating Swiss presidency in 2022. “Ignazio Cassis is a great friend of Ukraine,” he said. “Communication has always been very positive, open and transparent.”

Artem Rybchenko was the Ukrainian ambassador in Bern from 2018 until 2022. He is now returning to Kyiv as the new Ukrainian special envoy for reconstruction.