The interstellar meteor, named CNEOS 2014-01-08, was spotted off the coast of Papua New Guinea in January 2014.
A meteor from outside our solar system crashed into Earth in January 2014 off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The interstellar meteor, known as CNEOS 2014-01-08, is believed to be the first known interstellar object that actually exists on Earth. Harvard University physicists Amir Siraj and Abraham Loeb first identified the meteorite as “coming from an unbound hyperbolic orbit with 99.999% confidence.” Based on catalog data on the object’s trajectory, both Siraj and Loeb concluded that the object may be traveling from beyond our solar system due to its unusually high heliocentric velocity.
However, Siraj and Loeb’s paper remains unpublished, as NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies database did not reveal what the correct readings are. However, his claim was backed up by US Space Operations Command Chief Scientist Joel Mozer in April 2021 after he reviewed the classified data in question. He confirmed that the velocity estimate reported to NASA is accurate enough to indicate an interstellar trajectory. This prompted Siraj and Loeb to seek out the object and study it closely. Learn how researchers would find CNEOS 2014-01-08.
How will they find the meteor?
According to Universe Today, most of the meteor burned up during its descent into Earth’s atmosphere, leaving behind only fragmented meteorites. However, satellite tracking data combined with wind and ocean current data can give a reasonable search area of only 10 km by 10 km. The fragments are expected to be magnetic so they can be extracted from the ocean floor. Siraj and Loeb have even set out to do just that, and have also teamed up with an ocean technology consulting firm to make it happen. Loeb was quoted by Universe Today as saying, “Last year, Universe Today, Loeb explained that this research could give us “a chance to get our hands on the relic and find out if it’s natural, if it’s a rock, or if , you know, a tiny fraction of those [interstellar objects] it could be artificial.”