Harvard professor Avi Loeb, known for suggesting that the Oumuamua object in 2017 was an alien spacecraft, believes he and his team have found parts of an interstellar object at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and that interstellar object was claimed to be a potential Alien Artifact.
Using a tentacle-like device called an "interstellar hook," Loeb searched for potential rock samples from outer space on the ocean floor. He may have discovered something significant. However, this is still to be confirmed, and Loeb has been actively searching for fragments of a peculiar meteorite called IM1.
IM1 is an unusual meteorite that exploded over the Pacific Ocean at 3:05 am on January 9, 2014. Loeb strongly believes it originated from beyond our Solar System. Firstly, it crashed into the Pacific at an incredible speed. Secondly, initial analysis by Loeb and his team suggested that the meteorite was tougher than any of the other 272 meteors listed in NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies catalog.
Following its entry into Earth's atmosphere, the Department of Defense determined the location where it fell into the ocean, providing Loeb and his team with a rough search area.
Three months ago, The Guardian reported that Loeb planned a $1.5 million expedition from Papua New Guinea to search for fragments of the meteorite at a depth of 1.7 km on the ocean floor. Moreover, he speculates that the space rock could be an extraterrestrial "alien artifact."
In a Medium post two months ago, Loeb wrote, "Analyzing the composition of the fragments could allow us to determine whether the object is natural or artificial in origin." He also mentioned that the meteorite's exceptional toughness might be because it was "launched a billion years ago from a distant technological civilization."
On June 21, it was reported that Loeb's team discovered tiny spherical fragments, known as "spherules," made of an unusual combination of iron, magnesium, and titanium.
Although spherules are not uncommon and are often formed when meteorites or asteroids violently explode, Loeb stated in his Medium blog that the spherules they found have a composition mainly consisting of iron, with some magnesium and titanium but no nickel. He added that this composition is anomalous compared to human-made alloys, known asteroids, and familiar astrophysical sources.
Further research is needed, and Loeb's team will analyze the samples with a spectrometer at Harvard to identify any isotopes present before sharing their findings with the world.
Picture Credit:Image by frimufilms on Freepik