Avi Loeb, a resident UFO investigator at Harvard, and his colleagues think they may have found minute remains of an alien visitation in the Pacific Ocean’s depths. There are reasons to be sceptical about their conclusions, though.
According to the BBC, Loeb, a controversial astronomer from Harvard, has scraped the ocean floor to gather prospective samples of interstellar rock using a device he devised termed the “interstellar hook.” With the use of this device that resembles a tentacle, he claims to have located potential extraterrestrial meteorite pieces.
A well-known astronomer and extraterrestrial scout
Loeb has become well known for his ongoing quest to find artefacts that could be connected to a highly developed civilisation that exists somewhere else in the universe. While ‘Oumuamua, an extraterrestrial object that passed by our planet in October 2017, is the topic of his most well-known ideas, the latest anomaly, known as IM1, dropped into the Pacific Ocean in 2014.
Based on IM1’s amazing speed during impact and the Department of Defense’s confirmation of its crash site, the astronomer is adamant that it left the Solar System.
However, the narrative is not over there. The claim made by Loeb that this asteroid may represent cutting-edge technology developed by an alien civilisation is sure to elicit suspicion and surprise from his peers.
However, it is still unclear if Loeb and his colleagues had found proof that the item had an extraterrestrial origin or whether they were only looking at commonplace ocean bottom trash.
'Alien meteor' fragments discovered
In order to test the capabilities of their interplanetary hook, Loeb and his team set off on a mission earlier this month aboard the Silver Star, a ship with a suitable name. On June 21, when they discovered tiny spherical particles called as “spherules,” they appeared to have struck gold. These spherules contain an unusual blend of titanium, magnesium, and iron.
Such spherules are frequently used as telltale markers of meteorites or asteroids, which are generated by intense explosions, claims the BBC.
Other scientists are doubtful, despite Loeb’s conviction that these minute shards, each measuring barely a third of a millimetre in size, come from the IM1 item. They emphasise that spherules can be produced by terrestrial mechanisms as well.
According to NASA curator of cosmic dust Marc Fries, “Tiny metallic spherules are quite prevalent on Earth. They come from welding, volcanoes, welding fumes, car brakes, and maybe some other unidentified causes as well.
Additionally, it’s possible that some of the spherules are pieces of the countless meteorites that sometimes penetrate Earth’s atmosphere.
Nevertheless, Loeb isn’t giving up and claims on his blog that the spherules’ “anomalous” makeup makes them a strong contender for having come from space. He does admit that further study is required to completely comprehend what makes these bits special.
To detect any isotopes present, the researchers will now analyse the materials using a spectrometer at Harvard. Even if it is a very remote probability, it is still plausible that these pieces came from a separate star system.
