30 August 2023 , 20:32
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A Harvard professor who claims to have found objects from outside the solar system at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that may be indicative of alien life has called NASA "arrogant" for disputing data around the discovery.
Astrophysicist Avi Loeb led a team of "the best ocean explorers in the world" to locate fragments of iron spheres, named IM1, that came from an artificial alloy and were detected by US spy satellites when they entered the Earth's atmosphere and plunged into the Pacific Ocean in January 2014.
The team used a magnetic sled to recover 740 marble-sized molten droplets from the seabed 260 miles from Papa New Guinea. Subsequent research carried out alongside experts from the US Space Command found the fragments likely came from an object outside of our solar system.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb says metal he recovered from the sea floor is evidence of alien existence (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)This week, the results of the analysis were published, revealing four indicators of the object's interstellar origin that could potentially provide the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life. However, Prof Loeb's efforts were initially marred, he claims, by NASA who said the US government got data surrounding the fragments wrong.
Now that he and his team have discovered spherules with an extra-solar composition near IM1’s path, the 61-year-old says NASA "better retract their published claim that the US Space Command overestimated IM1’s speed by a large factor and that IM1 was a stony meteorite from the solar system" as "we now know that IM1 was interstellar".
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"That was arrogant of NASA to say that. The US Space Command receives more funding than NASA, and its main job is to identify ballistic missiles that pose a threat to citizens," Loeb told IrishStar.com. "I wouldn't sleep well at night if I thought the US Government was getting such data wrong.
The metalic fragments Avi Loeb found at the bottom of the ocean (Prof Loeb)"Instead of rejecting the data, they would be better off revising their model. The success of the expedition illustrates the value of taking risks in science despite all odds as an opportunity to discover new knowledge. What we have discovered should provide a wake-up call... urging astronomers to be more curious and open-minded."
Prof Loeb also criticized his peers for undermining the expedition and said he was subject to "personal attacks" and "a lot of push back" from those who could not, quite literally, get on board with his theories.
"The interstellar expedition was risky," the astronomer admitted. "There were many potential failure points such as not securing the needed funding of $1.5 million, not recruiting qualified expedition engineers and navigators, and not building the proper machinery to accomplish the task.
The fragments of iron spheres, named IM1, were detected by US spy satellites when they entered the Earth's atmosphere (Prof Loeb)"But long before all of that, I could have decided not to pursue this project because of the extreme pushback from “experts” on space rocks who were “sick about hearing Avi Loeb’s wild claims”, according to a New-York Times article and a New-York Times Magazine profile.
"Before I went on the expedition, one of the experts in space rocks said we won't find anything. To that I said, sit back and relax because I'm doing the heavy lifting. Let's go there and see what we find.
"Some of the attacks are personal, not professional, so I decided to take the approach of the eagle. The eagle often has a crow on its back, pecking on its neck but the eagle is not pushing away or fighting the crow. It is just rising to greater heights where the oxygen is low and because of that, the crow drops off the eagle's back.
Avi Loeb holds up the fragments he and his team recovered, beaming with pride at his discovery (Prof Loeb)"My priority is doing science to the best of my ability, going to the meteor site, finding the materials from it, analyzing them in the labs, and showing they're not from the solar system. That's the place where I hope the crow drops off my back."
Although Prof Loeb says it is "easier to find out what lies in interstellar space in the Pacific Ocean than through politicians in Washington DC," the US Government, on the whole, has been "encouraging" of his pursuits.
Positive reactions have included a letter from State Command supporting research into interstellar objects and visits from Pentagon representatives who are interested in the Galileo Project, a research program the professor co-founded in 2021 dedicated to the search for alien technology near and on Earth.
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Going forward, the Israel native urges these bodies to set their differences aside and work together to put more resources toward space exploration.
"If we decided to live in peace and allocate the same resources to space as we do to war, we could send a CubSat probe towards every star in the Milky Way - billions of them - within this century.
"I hope a wake-up call will come from finding a neighbor, i.e. extraterrestrial life. If we learn we're not alone and we're all in the same boat, we can then start cooperating and the Earth can sail further toward space."
NASA has been contacted for comment.