The space rock crashed into our atmosphere off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2014 and is the third object known to have visited our solar system outside the Sun. Avi Loeb, a Harvard astronomer from Israel, and research associate Amir Siraj determined that it came from outside our solar system in 2019, but were unable to confirm the finding until this month. Meteors are relatively small celestial objects made of rock and metal that enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Loeb is a well-known and controversial astronomer who claims that another interstellar visitor, an object called Oumuamua that passed through the sun in 2017, could have been made by an alien civilization. Scientists have also spotted a comet from another solar system, making the 2014 meteorite the third known interstellar object and the first to hit Earth. Get the Times of Israel Daily E-mail and never miss our top stories By registering, you agree to the terms Loeb and Siraj were skeptical when they announced the finding, until the US military confirmed its findings. The US Department of Defense, part of the US Department of Defense, said that its Deputy Commander, John E. Shaw, and Chief Scientist, Joel Mozer, confirmed that “the previously identified interstellar object was indeed an interstellar object.” The data “confirmed that the speed estimate reported to NASA is accurate enough to indicate an interstellar orbit.” Space Command scientists analyzed additional data to confirm the findings of Loeb and Siraj and presented the results to NASA and the European Space Agency. The Space Command is responsible for US military operations in space and monitors space objects that could threaten Earth. 6 / “I had the pleasure of signing a note with the chief scientist of @ussfspoc, Dr. “Moser, to confirm that an interstellar object that had previously been identified was indeed an interstellar object, a confirmation that helped the wider astronomical community.” pic.twitter.com/PGlIONCSrW – US Space Administration (@US_SpaceCom) April 7, 2022 NASA has challenged the meteorite’s confirmation of the meteorite, saying that “the short duration of the data collected, less than five seconds, makes it difficult to determine definitively whether the object’s origin was indeed interstellar.” The meteorite, known as CNEOS 2014-01-08, was about the size of a dishwasher and entered our atmosphere near the island of Manus in Papua New Guinea on January 8, 2014. Siraj wrote in Scientific American this week that US government satellites designed to detect rocket launches had collected meteorite data. Siraj was an undergraduate at Harvard at the time of his discovery, with Loeb acting as his advisor. The two were studying Oumuamua when they started looking for other interstellar objects and soon found the meteorite data. The Perseid meteor shower appeared in Marganell, Spain, on August 12, 2016. (AP Photo / Manu Fernandez) Siraj said dozens of similar meteors hit the Earth each year, but he was traveling extremely fast and coming from an unusual direction, suggesting it was coming from outside our solar system. The meteorite traveled in an “unbound orbit”, while other meteorites travel in closed orbits as they circle the sun. Before hitting Earth, the meter traveled at a speed of about 60 kilometers (37 miles) per second, much faster than other meteorites. Loeb and Siraj wrote a paper on their discovery and submitted it for review to critics, but the magazines refused the research, citing its reliance on confidential information. Some of the US government data is kept secret for security reasons. The couple said at the time that they were 99.999% sure of their conclusions. Harvard Israeli scientist Avi Loeb. (Screenshot / YouTube) They were later approached by a defense official who was able to receive official confirmation of the finding from the Ministry of Defense. The meteorite is the third interstellar object ever observed in our solar system, after Oumuamua and a comet spotted in 2019 called Birosov, none of which hit Earth. Comets are made of ice and dust, while meteorites are made of rock and metal. Siraj said his and Loeb’s findings on the interstellar meteorite suggest that there are many more such objects. He said his speed suggested he could come from “deep inside another planetary system” near the star of that system, as opposed to the edge of another system, which was considered more likely. Researchers are examining whether it is possible to retrieve meteorite fragments from the Pacific Ocean floor, calling a natural specimen “the holy grail of interstellar studies.” The meteorite disintegrated as it entered our atmosphere. Loeb was the longest-serving president of the Harvard Department of Astronomy, a position he held from 2011-2020, and is currently a full professor of science at the university. It came to light after claiming that Oumuamua, an irregular object outside the solar system that was observed passing by the sun in 2017, could be an alien artifact. Astronomers in Hawaii saw only one glance at the object they named Oumuamua, which means “detector” in Hawaii, as it moved away from the sun, moving erratically. The strange body was the first known interstellar object to be observed in our solar system. It seemed to be small, less than 1 km long, dark red and in the shape of a cigar or pancake. The impression of an artist from the interstellar asteroid Oumuamua. Scientist Avi Loeb believes it could be an alien artifact. (Courtesy / European Southern Observatory, M. Kornmesser) Loeb argued that the Oumuamua could be an alien artifact, such as a light cloth powered by sunlight or a communication plate. Most astronomers believe it was of natural origin, but differ in what it was or where it came from. The Galileo Project was launched last year, an initiative that will systematically look for natural objects produced by “extraterrestrial technological civilizations”. Previous programs, such as the SETI Institute, have searched the world for electromagnetic signals, not objects. The Galileo project aims to identify unidentified aerial phenomena and “interstellar objects resembling Oumuamua” through the scientific analysis of data collected with state-of-the-art instruments. The data and the detailed process will be transparent and open to the public, the team said. Siraj is now the director of interstellar studies for the Galileo Project, and said this week that the team received funding to investigate a possible “spacecraft appointment” with an interstellar object for physical sampling. Loeb is from Beit Hanan moshav in central Israel, served in the famous Talpiot program of the Israeli Defense Forces and received his first degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. We tell a critical story Israel is now a much more important player on the world stage than its size suggests. 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