Avi Loeb, an alien hunter from Harvard University in the US, claims to have found the first known sample of an object outside our solar system on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, he believes that the found fragment is a particle of extraterrestrial technology.

This is stated in an unreviewed paper published on the university's website, as well as on Loeb's own blog, which tells the details. The physicist's article must be peer-reviewed by the scientific community, whether or not they recognize the conclusions Loeb has reached.

The scientist said in a blog post that he and his Galileo project have completed analyzing dozens of tiny fragments of "spherules" from the IM1 meteorite that fell into the Pacific Ocean in 2014. The meteorite is believed to originate from outside our star system.

Loeb became known to the general public when he suggested that Oumuamua, another interstellar object that flew past Earth in 2017, could be an alien craft. Since then, he has made a number of interesting statements about extraterrestrial technology, combining scientific facts with conjecture and sometimes even scientist's speculations. Despite the fact that Loeb's statements in the scientific world are perceived quite skeptically and with a certain irritation, because he allegedly denigrates serious science, it is thanks to his eccentricity physicist was able to make an expedition that allowed him to find a sphere in the ocean.

During the expedition of the project "Galileo" off the coast of Papua New Guinea was collected more than 700 spherulas, 57 of which Loeb singled out for more detailed analysis. To catch them, the scientist used a large magnetic device to scour the ocean floor.

Five of these tiny orbs "emerged as molten droplets from the surface of IM1 when it was affected by the tremendous heat from the fireball generated by its friction against the Earth's atmosphere."

The physicist said that the five fragments "demonstrated the composition of elements outside the solar system" that had "never been seen before". If confirmed by independent experts, the discovery could have significant historical implications.

The spheres found along the object's presumed path were rich in beryllium (Be), lanthanum (La) and uranium (U), and cosmochemist Stijn Jacobsen named the structure BeLaU.

"The measured contents of heavy elements other than lanthanum are consistently much higher than those of solar system-standard CI chondrites, suggesting that BeLaU spherules originate from outside the solar system," Loeb wrote.

He added that the source had a very low content of elements close to iron, such as rhenium (Re), and the birthplace of IM1 "could have been the differentiated crust of an exoplanet with an iron core and magma ocean."

In April 2022, the U.S. Space Command released a memorandum that, after years of speculation by Loeb, confirmed that IM1 did indeed originate from interstellar space. This conclusion was based on the speed at which it streaked across the sky in January 2014 before falling into the Pacific Ocean.

At the same time, the mere fact of finding interstellar material was not enough for Loeb, so he traditionally suggested that the spherules could be of unnatural origin and part of alien technology.

"A more exotic possibility is that this unusual abundance pattern, where the uranium content is almost a thousand times the standard value for the solar system, may reflect an extraterrestrial technological origin," Loeb added.

Such speculation is traditional for Loeb, who seems to simply enjoy teasing his more cautious fellow scientists.

"People are sick of hearing about Avi Loeb's wild claims. It pollutes good science - mixing the good science we do with this nonsensical sensationalism and sucking all the oxygen out of the room," Arizona State University astrophysicist Steve Dash said earlier about Loeb's claims.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL also told about Loeb's theory, according to which aliens in the solar system can launch probes to Earth.

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