XPost: alt.astronomy, alt.fan.heinlein

from
https://www.sci.news/astronomy/interstellar-meteor-fragments-12081.html

Tiny Fragments of Interstellar Meteor May Have Been Found in Pacific Ocean
Jul 10, 2023 by Natali Anderson
« Previous| Next »
Harvard University’s Professor Avi Loeb and colleagues have discovered
at least 50 tiny spherical iron fragments near the fireball path of the
first recognized interstellar meteor, IM1.

Tiny meteoritic spherules from the most likely path of IM1. Image
credit: Avi Loeb, Harvard University / Galileo Project.

IM1 was detected over the South Pacific, off the northern coast of Papua
New Guinea, in 2014.

Also referred to as CNEOS 20140108, the meteor had an estimated mass of
460 kg and was between 80 cm and 1 m (2.6-3.3 feet) in diameter.

The object was identified as an interstellar meteor candidate in 2019,
and confirmed in 2022.

“IM1’s fireball was detected by the U.S. Government at 17:05 GMT on
January 8, 2014 and indicated that this meteor was speeding beyond the
value required to escape from the Solar System,” said Professor Loeb,
the leader of the Galileo Project, which aims to identify the nature of potential objects made by existing or extinct extraterrestrial
technological civilizations.

“Based on the air ram-pressure that it sustained before disintegrating
in three flares 20 km above the ocean surface, this object was tougher
in material strength than all other 272 meteors in the CNEOS catalog of NASA.”

“Its interstellar origin was formally confirmed at the 99.999%
confidence in an official letter from the U.S. Space Command under DoD
to NASA on March 1, 2022.”

“Two years earlier, my discovery paper of IM1 with my undergraduate
student Amir Siraj showed that IM1 was moving outside the Solar System
faster than 95% of all stars in the vicinity of the Sun.”

“The possibility that IM1’s excess speed benefited from propulsion and
the fact that it was tougher than all known space rocks, raise the
possibility that it may have been technological in origin — similar to NASA’s New Horizons craft colliding with an exoplanet in a billion years
and burning up in its atmosphere as an interstellar meteor.”

As part of the Galileo Project, Professor Loeb and his team aimed to
retrieve the meteoritic spherules of IM1.

On 14 June, 2023, they set out for the meteor’s estimated landing zone
in the South Pacific Ocean.

“It took us a few days on board the aluminum ship, which is fittingly
called Silver Star, to get the magnetic sled on the ocean floor and a
few more days to understand what we collected,” Professor Loeb explained.

“As we scooped the magnets, the most abundant material attached to them
was a black powder of volcanic ash.”

“It was everywhere, including the control regions far from IM1’s site.”

“I was frustrated by this background to the extent where I titled one of
my diary reports: Where are the spherules of IM1?”

“And then came the breakthrough,” he said.

“After a week at sea we used a filter with a mesh size of a third of a millimeter to sift through the tiny volcanic particles and examine the remaining larger particles under a microscope.”

“Shortly thereafter, the team’s geologist Jeff Wynn came running down
the stairs to tell me that the team’s analyst Ryan Weed saw through the microscope a beautiful metallic marble of sub-millimeter size and
sub-milligram mass.”

“I rushed up to the top level of our ship. When Ryan showed me the
image, I asked him to place this spherule in the X-ray fluorescence
analyzer. He responded: ‘Sure, we can do it later.’ I hugged him,
thrilled by the finding, and said: ‘Please do it right now’.”

“The composition analysis implied 84% iron, 8% silicon, 4% magnesium and
2% titanium, plus trace elements.”

“I knew immediately that we would find many more spherules. When you
find a single ant after surveying a small part of the kitchen, you know
that there are many more ants out there. Sure enough, we found more
spherules within a few hours.”

The team was able to collect more than 50 spherical fragments from IM1’s landing site.

“These sub-millimeter-sized spheres, which appear under a microscope as beautiful metallic marbles, were concentrated along the expected path of
IM1 — about 85 kilometers off the coast of Manus Island in Papua New Guinea,” Professor Loeb said.

“Their discovery opens a new frontier in astronomy, where what lay
outside the Solar System is studied through a microscope rather than a telescope.”

“That 83% of the matter in the Universe is apparently composed of dark
matter which was not found yet in the solar system should teach us
modesty in forecasting the nature of interstellar objects.”

Just a few days ago, the researchers examined several spherules using an electron scanning microscope and an elemental analyzer.

“By now, we studied five spherules with a scanning electron microscope
and laser ablation mass spectroscopy,” Professor Loeb said.

“The composition of the spherules along the meteor path is consistently
from the same source, whereas the background spherules from the control
region had a different morphology and composition.”

“The meteor composition is consistent with the results from the X-ray fluorescence analyzer on the ship.”

“Interestingly, the meteor spherules show evidence for a rapid heating
event with surface dendrites whose spatial separation can be used to
estimate the highest temperature they reached in the fireball.”

“We also noticed an inner structure of spheres within spheres, implying hierarchical merger events of droplets during the explosion.”

“But most interestingly, the mass spectroscopy revealed uranium and
lead,” he said.

“The isotope uranium-238 decays to lead-206 with a half-life of 4.47
billion years and uranium-235 decays to lead-207 with a half-life of
0.71 billion year. This allows us to estimate the age of the spherules
in two independent ways.”

“Based on the measured abundance of uranium-238, lead-206, uranium-235
and lead-207, I calculated that the two spherules from the meteor path
have an age of order the age of the Universe (13.8 billion years)
whereas the background spherule has an age of order the age of the Solar
System (4.6 billion years).”

“In the coming weeks we will examine further any clue for the spherules
being different from solar system materials.”

“This will constitute independent evidence for the interstellar origin
of IM1 in addition to its measured speed.”

“The expedition demonstrates how science should be done,” he concluded.

“Driven by raw curiosity and wonder, on a topic of great interest to the public, while seeking evidence to find the truth and finding it despite
all odds after a heroic effort by a team of dedicated professionals.”

Published in
Astronomy
Featured
Space Exploration
Tagged as
Cosmic spheruleEarthGalileo ProjectIM1Interstellar meteorIronIsotopeLeadMeteorMeteoriteMicrospherulePacific OceanPapua New GuineaUniverseUranium
You Might Like
This image, taken with the Gemini South telescope, shows IC 2220, a
reflection nebula some 1,200 light-years away in the constellation of
Carina. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF /
AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / J. Miller, Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Rodriguez, Gemini
Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.
Gemini South Telescope Observes Reflection Nebula
Brown dwarfs are common in the Universe but are rarely found to emit
radio waves. Image credit: NASA.
ASKAP Telescope Detects Periodic Radio Emission from Ultracool Dwarf
This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance on the surface of the Red Planet. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Perseverance Finds Diverse Organic Molecules in Jezero Crater
This Webb image shows a part of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the
closest star-forming region to Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA /
STScI / Klaus Pontoppidan, STScI.
Webb Celebrates First Anniversary with Spectacular Image of Nearby
Star-Forming Region
This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning
with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic
dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss
/ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Our Universe is 26.7 Billion Years Old, Astrophysicist Claims
An artist’s impression of LTT 9779b orbiting its host star. Image
credit: Ricardo Ramírez Reyes, Universidad de Chile.
Cheops Finds Metal Clouds in Atmosphere of Ultrahot Neptune
This Hubble image shows eMACS J1353.7+4329, a lensing galaxy cluster
some 8 billion light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici.
Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / H. Ebeling.
Hubble Space Telescope Observes Exceptional Galaxy Cluster

LATEST NEWS
An artist’s impression of the Santa Elina rock shelter, Brazil. Image
credit: Júlia D’Oliveira.
Giant Sloth Pendants Push Back Timeline of Humans’ Arrival in South America Jul 14, 2023 | Archaeology
This image, taken with the Gemini South telescope, shows IC 2220, a
reflection nebula some 1,200 light-years away in the constellation of
Carina. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF /
AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / J. Miller, Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Rodriguez, Gemini
Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.
Gemini South Telescope Observes Reflection Nebula
Jul 13, 2023 | Astronomy
An artist’s impression of the early Earth. Image credit: NASA.
Earth’s Day was a Constant 19.5 Hours for Almost 1.5 Billion Years,
Study Says
Jul 13, 2023 | Geophysics
Brown dwarfs are common in the Universe but are rarely found to emit
radio waves. Image credit: NASA.
ASKAP Telescope Detects Periodic Radio Emission from Ultracool Dwarf
Jul 13, 2023 | Astronomy
An artist’s impression of Smilodon fatalis. Image credit: Sergio De la
Rosa / CC BY-SA 3.0.
Saber-Tooth Cats and Dire Wolves Suffered from Osteochondrosis, New
Study Shows
Jul 13, 2023 | Paleontology
This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance on the
surface of the Red Planet. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.
Perseverance Finds Diverse Organic Molecules in Jezero Crater
Jul 12, 2023 | Planetary Science
This Webb image shows a part of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the
closest star-forming region to Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA /
STScI / Klaus Pontoppidan, STScI.
Webb Celebrates First Anniversary with Spectacular Image of Nearby
Star-Forming Region
Jul 12, 2023 | Astronomy
Gossypium herbaceum. Image credit: Xavierserratm / CC BY-SA 4.0.
Researchers Sequence Genome of Levant Cotton
Jul 12, 2023 | Genetics
Tiny placoid scales of Otodus megalodon compared to a tip of a 0.5-mm mechanical pencil lead on the bottom right corner. Image credit: Kenshu
Shimada / DePaul University.
Study: Megalodon was Slow Cruising Shark with Occasional Burst Swimming
for Prey Capture
Jul 12, 2023 | Paleontology
The 2,000-year-old fresco in Pompeii showing what may be an ancestor of
modern pizza. Image credit: Pompeii archeological park.
Pompeii Fresco Depicts ‘Possible Ancestor’ of Italian Pizza
Jul 11, 2023 | Archaeology
This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning
with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic
dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss
/ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Our Universe is 26.7 Billion Years Old, Astrophysicist Claims
Jul 11, 2023 | Astronomy
Goh et al. show that silences can substitute for sounds in three
prominent auditory illusions caused by event representation. Image
credit: Finmiki.
Silence is Truly Heard, New Research Suggests
Jul 11, 2023 | Neuroscience
The Ngoc Linh crocodile newt (Tylototriton ngoclinhensis), holotype
male. Image credit: Phung et al., doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1168.96091.
New Crocodile Newt Species Discovered in Vietnam
Jul 11, 2023 | Biology
Boulila et al. highlight a common, correlatable 36-million-year cycle in
the diversity of marine genera as well as in tectonic, sea-level, and macrostratigraphic data over the past 250 million years of Earth
history. Image credit: James St. John / CC BY 2.0.
36-Million-Year Geological Cycle Drives Marine Biodiversity, Scientists Say
Jul 11, 2023 | Biology
Tiny meteoritic spherules from the most likely path of IM1. Image
credit: Avi Loeb, Harvard University / Galileo Project.
Tiny Fragments of Interstellar Meteor May Have Been Found in Pacific Ocean
Jul 10, 2023 | Astronomy
The linguliform brachiopod, Barroisella? milwaukeensis, showing color
patterns, MPM P236. Image credit: Kenneth C. Gass / CC BY-SA 4.0
International.
Milwaukee’s Gift to Devonian Paleontology
Jul 10, 2023 | Paleontology
Western honeybees (Apis mellifera). Image credit: PollyDot.
New Research Reveals How Honeybees Make Fast, Accurate Decisions
Jul 10, 2023 | Biology
An artist’s impression of LTT 9779b orbiting its host star. Image
credit: Ricardo Ramírez Reyes, Universidad de Chile.
Cheops Finds Metal Clouds in Atmosphere of Ultrahot Neptune
Jul 10, 2023 | Astronomy
This Hubble image shows eMACS J1353.7+4329, a lensing galaxy cluster
some 8 billion light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici.
Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / H. Ebeling.
Hubble Space Telescope Observes Exceptional Galaxy Cluster
Jul 10, 2023 | Astronomy
Rimrock Draw Rockshelter in Oregon, the United States. Image credit:
University of Oregon.
Ancient Humans Occupied Oregon Rockshelter 18,250 Years Ago
Jul 7, 2023 | Archaeology
Recreation drawing of ‘The Ivory Lady.’ Image credit: Miriam Luciañez Triviño.
New Scientific Method Reveals Female Leadership in Copper Age Iberia
Jul 7, 2023 | Archaeology
A small piece of Burmese amber preserving feathers interpreted as
belonging to a juvenile enantiornithine bird: (A) amber with the dorsal
surface of the feather cluster exposed; (B) ventral surface exposed; (C)
close up of the ventral surface (region marked in B); (D) close up of
the ventral surface region marked in (C); (E) close up of the ventral
surface region marked in (D); (F) close up of the dorsal surface marked
in (A, larger rectangle); (G) close up of the dorsal surface marked in
(A, smaller rectangle). Dotted lines indicate desiccation surfaces.
Scale bars - 0.5 mm in (A, B, D and F), 0.1 mm in (C); 0.3 mm in (E);
and 0.2 mm in (G). Anatomical abbreviations: ipl - immature plumaceous
feather; ipn - immature pennaceous feather; ks - keratinous sheath; pf - probable filamentous ‘protofeathers.’ Image credit: O’Connor et al.,
doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105572.
99-Million-Year-Old Burmese Amber Preserves Feathers of Immature Enantiornithine Bird
Jul 7, 2023 | Paleontology
CEERS 1019’s black hole existed just over 570 million years after the
Big Bang and weighs only 9 million solar masses. Image credit: NASA /
ESA / CSA / Leah Hustak, STScI.
Astronomers Detect Farthest Active Supermassive Black Hole Yet
Jul 6, 2023 | Astronomy
Primary sequential molt in Microraptor; the arrow indicates the location
of the molt-related gap within the primary feathers. Scale bar - 10 cm.
Image credit: Y. Kiat & J.K. O’Connor, doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-05048-x. Rarity of Molt Evidence in Feathered Dinosaurs Suggests Annual Molt
Evolved Later among Flying Birds
Jul 6, 2023 | Paleontology
This image, taken with ESA’s Solar Orbiter on April 1, 2022, shows a
partial section of the Sun with gas at 1 million degrees; the red paths correspond to some of the rain tracks analyzed by Antolin et al. Image
credit: Patrick Antolin / ESA / Solar Orbiter / EUI / HRI.
Meteor-Like ‘Fireballs’ Spotted in Solar Corona
Jul 6, 2023 | Astronomy
HOME ABOUT US NEWS ARCHIVE COPYRIGHT PRIVACY POLICY RSS CONTACT US
© 2011-2023. Sci.News. All Rights Reserved. | Back to top

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)