Swiss Review 3/2019

Swiss Review / May 2019 / No.3 8 Focus ever time that they were able to col- lect solar wind particles in a systematic fashion and analyse them in a laboratory. Solar wind cannot be measured directly on Earth, because our planet’s atmosphere and mag- netic field deflect and shield us from it. Meteorites had previously con- tained the only solar wind particles that had ever been detected, al- though it was never clear how long the meteorites had been exposed to solar wind before they had fallen to Earth. The SWC facilitated the first- ever detailed analysis of the compo- sition of the solar wind. It also threw up some surprises. For example, sci- entists discovered that solar hydro- gen differs greatly from terrestrial hydrogen andmeteorite hydrogen in terms of the amount of deuterium or ‘heavy hydrogen’ it contains. Switzerland’s celestial pioneers : Lucerne jesuit Johann Baptist Cysat (1586–1657) discovers new binary star systems; Lausanne scholar Jean-Philippe Loys de Cheseaux (1718–1751), documents numerous star clusters and nebulae; Rudolf Wolf from Zurich (1816–1893) recognises that the sunspot activity cycle corresponds with the Earth’s magnetic field cycle; Fritz Zwicky (1898–1974), the Bulgarian-born astronomer from the canton of Glarus, transforms astrophysics in the USA with his theories on extragalactic nebulae; Paul Wild (1925–2014) , University of Berne, discovers over 90 asteroids as well as seven comets; the Zenit rocket developed by Hans Balsiger and Ernest Kopp flies into space in 1967; Johannes Geiss (born in 1926) develops the Apollo 11 Solar Wind Composition Experiment at the University of Berne (see main text); in 1995, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of the Geneva Observa- tory discover the first planets outside our solar system, orbiting the star Helvetios (51 Pegasi); in 1992, NASA astronaut Claude Nicollier (born in 1944) becomes the first Swiss to fly into space; Markus Griesser (born in 1949) discovers ten main-belt asteroids and the minor plan­ et 113390 Helvetia in 2002; Kathrin Altwegg (born in 1951) becomes a leading figure in Swiss space science due to her involvement in the Giotto and Rosetta missions . (MUL) Bochsler says: “We were suddenly able to clear up some discrepancies regarding the Big Bang, so the impli- cations were quite major.” Boost for Berne The SWC put wind in the sails of Bernese (and Swiss) space research. Firstly, Professor Geiss was adept at exploiting his fame to expand the Physics Institute, thereby laying the foundation for further successes. Berne’s scientists went on to play a regular part in international projects. The Rosetta probe’s rendezvous with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, or “Chury” for short (see also “Swiss Re- view” 1/2015), is still fresh in themem- ory. High-performance instruments from Berne were on board the probe, capturing data on the chemical make-up of this mysterious celestial body – and ascertaining, among other things, that Chury stinks of horse ma- nure. Exoplanets The University of Berne is a global leader in space science. This is accord- ing to none other than Thomas Zurbu- chen, the Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Citing exoplanets – the study of plan- ets outside our solar system – as an ex- ample, Zurbuchen tells “Swiss Review” on the phone that scientists in Berne and elsewhere in Switzerland have discovered, developed and played a key role in new areas of research. He believes that it would have been wrong for themto rest on their laurels: “To make an international mark, you need to keep pushing. You don’t stand still.” Zurbuchen, who grew up in the Bernese Oberland, embodies Berne’s thriving space science programme to some extent. It is unlikely h is own ca- reerwould have taken off as it did, had it not been for the SolarWind Compo-