Fragments of iron have been recovered from the Pacific Ocean which may have originated from outside our solar system, according to a Harvard scientist.
The tiny spheres were pulled from the seabed by a magnetic sledge which was dragged across the ocean floor and while their origin is not yet clear, it is possible that they could have come from outside of the solar system, making them interstellar particles.
Whenever there is mention of such things, the question of aliens inevitably raises its head, and this case is no different. Some people, including a Harvard scientist, have speculated that the fragments could even have been part of some sort of alien space craft.
Advert
Professor Avi Loeb behan searching for the fragments of a meteor which crashed into the sea off Papua New Guinea in 2014.
The meteor is called IM1, and is thought to have come from outside the solar system in which we reside.
Professor Loeb and his team received 50 tiny fragments from the sea floor, with the Harvard scientist saying it's possible that they originated in "a natural environment different from the solar system, or an extraterrestrial technological civilization."
Advert
It's not the first time that Professor Loeb has argued that the Earth has been visited by interstellar life forms.
In 2017 a long, cigar-shaped object passed through the solar-system, called Oumuamua. Prof Loeb asserted that the enormous object was in fact of interstellar origin, and possibly even the product of extra-terrestrial life.
There are, of course, a number of theories about the existence of aliens.
One argues that the universe is so massive that it is inconceivable that we are alone in it. As unlikely as it is that intelligent life can involve, the universe is large enough that it could happen more than once.
Advert
But why have we not yet encountered it, if it does exist? There some ideas around that too. One is that we're being collectively ignored by a galactic community which deems us too destructive and dangerous to engage with.
Another rather interesting idea is that intelligent life has evolved on numerous occasions, but the life-span of a civilisation is so short compared to the universe that they go extinct before another can arise.
There is also the possibility that we are indeed alone.
Advert
Regardless of whether the iron found in the Pacific is actually of alien origin, Loeb said that to even discover material from outside of our solar system is an exciting enough event in and of itself, telling Fox News that it was both 'historical' and 'successful'.
Topics: News, World News, Aliens, Space