In 2014, an interstellar object – thought to be from another star system – streaked across Earth’s skies as a meteor, then crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Papua New Guinea.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is now leading a sea-going search, combing the ocean floor with what’s essentially a large magnet, hoping to pick up fragments of that object. He’s found bits of wire, tiny aluminum shards and volcanic ash.
And this week (June 21, 2023), Loeb reported that his team has found tiny metallic spherules whose composition suggests an unearthly origin.
Loeb posted the news in his onboard diary, which is published at Medium. He included a photo of a few of the odd objects, which are minuscule, only about 0.3 mm (about one-hundredth of an inch) in size. And he added a couple of more photos in his latest post on June 22.
Becky Ferreira also wrote about the discovery for Vice on the same day.
Loeb likens the search to “finding a needle in the ocean.” READ MORE...
Loeb posted the news in his onboard diary, which is published at Medium. He included a photo of a few of the odd objects, which are minuscule, only about 0.3 mm (about one-hundredth of an inch) in size. And he added a couple of more photos in his latest post on June 22.
Becky Ferreira also wrote about the discovery for Vice on the same day.
Loeb likens the search to “finding a needle in the ocean.” READ MORE...