Harvard scientist believes ‘exotic’ metals found at bottom of ocean came from Earth-like exoplanet – now race is on to find out if they really are ALIEN-made

Scientists have shared new insights into mineral fragments recovered from the Pacific Ocean that came from outside our solar system.

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb and his team published a pre-print study on Thursday, explaining that the properties of the meteorite that crashed in 2014 “can be explained naturally.”

Researchers surveyed the seafloor off the coast of New Guinea in June and found about 700 small metal balls during the expedition. The 57 balls analyzed contained compositions unknown in our solar system.

The paper suggested that the features were formed when the Earth-like planet deviated from a circular orbit around a dwarf star, creating a stream of debris that shot into interstellar space.

Loeb wrote that during this event, the crust of a rocky planet would melt, creating an abundance of beryllium, lanthanum and uranium, which were found in mineral spheres pulled from the depths of the ocean.

While the new analysis points to a natural origin, Loeb suggested that abundant trace elements could have served as a cause Technological purpose.

“For example, lanthanum could have been smelted from a semiconductor, and uranium could have been used as fuel in a fission reactor,” he explained.

Loeb told DailyMail.com that he and his team “plan to discover the true nature of IM1 by finding large pieces of it on our upcoming mission over the next nine months.”

Scientists have shared new insights into mineral fragments recovered from the Pacific Ocean that came from outside our solar system

Does this mean that IM1 definitely originated from a natural astrophysical environment and was not a Voyager-like technological meteorite manufactured by another civilization? “We don’t know for sure,” Loeb shared in a statement Mediation mail.

Preliminary analysis, released in August, revealed the rare properties of the meteorite-like object called IM1.

The paper explained that although the elements are found on Earth, the patterns do not match the alloys found on our planet, the Moon, Mars, or other natural meteorites in the solar system.

The pre-printed paper delves into its origin.

The team calculated the speed at which rocks were released from the crust of the Earth-like planet during the event known as tidal disturbance.

Researchers fished the seafloor off the coast of New Guinea in June and found about 700 tiny metal balls during the expedition, and the 57 balls analyzed contained compositions unknown in our solar system.

Harvard physicist Avi Loeb and his team published a pre-print study on Thursday, explaining that the properties of the meteorite that crashed in 2014 “can be explained naturally.”

“The most abundant planetary systems eject rocks from the crust of an Earth-like planet at a characteristic interstellar speed of about 37 miles per second,” Loeb wrote.

In one second, the rocks traveled the same distance as a car traveling on a highway for one hour.

“Its speed is higher than 95% of the random speeds of stars in the vicinity of the Sun,” Loeb wrote.

“Surprisingly, this is the inferred velocity of the first reported interstellar meteorite, IM1, measured by US government satellites on January 8, 2014.”

Preliminary analysis data in August showed that the fragments were rich in beryllium, lanthanum and uranium, along with a low content of elements with a high affinity for iron, such as rhenium. Pictured is an assembly of a piece found at the site

The remains came from a meter-sized object that crashed off the coast of Papua, New Guinea in 2014, which Professor Loeb claims was a spacecraft.

About 700 metallic spheroids were pulled from the sea, which Loeb determined contained alloys that could only be found in interstellar space.

The “BeLaU” composition in the fragments is the result of the rocky planet making several close passes around the dwarf star, potentially causing the planet’s surface to melt.

“This melting could lead to differentiation of elements, allowing iron-bound elements to descend into the planet’s iron core,” Loeb said.

The unusually high physical strength of IM1 probably results from solidification associated with repeated episodes of melting and crusting and enhanced differentiation of elements compared to Solar System planets such as Earth or Mars, which only experienced a magma ocean episode during their early formation. As a result of being bombarded with other things.

While the new analysis suggests that IM1 has natural origins, Loeb does not rule out the idea that aliens may have created it.

Loeb wrote that he and his team are planning a second expedition to the Pacific Ocean to scan the seafloor for larger pieces of IM1 and verify whether it is a rock or a more exotic object.

For years, Loeb has argued that interstellar technology may have visited Earth.

In 2017, an interstellar object called ‘Oumuamua passed through the solar system.

While most scientists believed it was a natural phenomenon, Loeb famously argued that it was probably of alien origin.

After the discovery of ‘Oumuamua in 2017, Loeb hypothesized – despite much criticism – that more interstellar objects had likely passed through Earth.

He was vindicated in 2019 when a student discovered that a high-speed fireball in 2014, the IM1 meteorite, also had interstellar origins, predating ‘Oumuamua.

The first mission to find the remains of the 2014 meteorite lasted for two weeks in June.

Also known as CNEOS1 01-08-2014, the object has an estimated diameter of 1.5 feet, a mass of 1,014 pounds and a pre-impact speed of 37.3 miles per second.

IM1 endured four times the pressure that would normally destroy an ordinary iron meteorite, as it hurtled through Earth’s atmosphere at 100,215 miles per hour.

Nearly two dozen people, including scientists from Harvard’s Project Galileo expedition, the ship’s crew and documentary filmmakers chronicling the endeavors, set sail from the island town of Lorengau on June 14 aboard the Silver Ship.

Throughout their two-week Pacific voyage, the Galileo team scanned the seafloor for signs of IM1 debris, pulled a deep-sea magnetic sled along the last known path of the fireball and completed 26 runs along the seafloor.