A rock may have fallen to Earth from distant space. Scientists want to look in the ocean

In 2014, a UFO crashed in front of ocean waves off the coast of Papua New Guinea. According to the data collected at that time, it was a meteorite that came from very far away Outer Space. If confirmed, it would be the third known interstellar object, after comets 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. Moreover, it will be the first object to fall to Earth.

To find out, the team of scientists decided to find the parts and carefully examine them. Although the plans for an undersea expedition are very risky, scientists are convinced of its great importance to science.

The rock was named CNEOS 01 2014-08. About half a meter wide, it was first examined by then-student Amir Siraj and Harvard professor Avi Loeb.

Using catalog data about the object’s path, Siraj and Loeb concluded that it might come from outside our solar system. He led them to this conclusion with the unusually high speed at which he was moving.

However, there is a catch. The data used to measure the object’s impact on Earth came from the US Department of Defense’s spy satellite, which is designed to monitor military activities from Earth. Accordingly, the exact values ​​as well as possible measurement errors are a closely guarded secret because the US military is reluctant to allow the exact capabilities of their satellites to become public information.

Much of the research community has mixed feelings about Siraj and Loeb’s analysis. The research of both worlds, for the reasons listed above, has not yet been published or reviewed. However, their assumptions were confirmed in April 2022, when US Space Command chief scientist Joel Moser, while reviewing classified data, asserted that “the estimated velocities, reported NASAIt was accurate enough to suggest an interstellar path. “

While the official scientific classification CNEOS 2014-01-08 is not yet clear, this revelation was enough to bring the topic back. Siraj and Loeb suggested several possible ways to examine the object more closely.

Much of the meteorite burned up as it descended into the Earth’s atmosphere, possibly leaving only fragments scattered on the ocean floor.

All is not lost, the researchers say, because data from the satellite, along with information about wind gusts and ocean currents at the time, could reveal a 10-square-kilometer area of ​​the sea in which the submerged remains are likely to appear. It is found.

Importantly, the scientists hope that these parts will respond to magnetic attraction. Therefore, they assume that the matter will be dealt with thanks to the large magnets placed on the ship.

Siraj and Loeb will do just that. So they teamed up with an ocean technology consulting firm to implement their plan.

As Loeb said, the research will dispel all doubts about the rock forever. In addition, they can offer us “the opportunity to get our hands on ‘relics’ and see if they are somehow natural or artificial.”

Loeb has suggested in recent years that interstellar objects such as Oumuamua, Borisov, and possibly CNEOS 01-08-2014 may have been created by extraterrestrials. He is the head of the Galileo Project, the main goal of which is to find evidence of intelligent life in the universe.

Even if it turns out to be “just” a rock, studying it would still tell us a lot about matter outside our solar system. This in itself can be a valuable source of information, the proponents of the research emphasized.