In late August, Harvard professor Avi Loeb’s blog posted that hegreat news! For the first time in history, scientists have analyzed the material of a meter-sized object from outside the solar system. ”
In July, Loeb recovered part of a meteorite that fell off the coast of Papua and New Guinea in 2014. A local New York news program reported on the discovery:Metal marble less than 1 mm in diameter” while Loeb called them “beautiful orbs of blue, brown, or gold color.”
now USA Today report:
Initial analysis shows that some globules from the meteor’s path are “extremely enriched” in heavy elements with an unprecedented composition. The team’s researchers say the composition of beryllium, lanthanum and uranium, labeled as the “BeLaU” composition, is inconsistent with naturally occurring terrestrial alloys on Earth or with fallout from nuclear explosions. Moreover, this composition is not found in Earth’s magma ocean, nor in the Moon, Mars, or other natural bodies in the solar system.
Other elements are thought to have been lost to IM1 through evaporation as it passed through Earth’s atmosphere, the researchers said, suggesting that the spherules could be part of an iron-core exoplanet outside our solar system. The theory is that it may have occurred in a magma ocean.
Longtime Slashdot reader Okian Warrior writes: “The technical details are as follows. herean easy-to-read explanation of the analysis and results can be found at: Avi Loeb’s blog” Loeb writes that the exact composition of those spheres is currently being studied in three separate laboratories, including one at Harvard University.
In July, the New York Times Published reaction Mr. Loeb claims that it is “probably a technological gadget with artificial intelligence.”
“People are tired of hearing Abi Loeb’s outlandish claims,” said Steve Desch, an astrophysicist at Arizona State University. “It’s polluting good science. It’s confusing the good science we’re doing with this ridiculous sensationalism and sucking all the oxygen out of the room.” Dr. Desch said some of his colleagues are now It added that it has refused to participate in Dr. Loeb’s research in peer review, a process in which scholars evaluate each other’s work to ensure that only high-quality research is published. “Seeing in a robe is not how science works, and they shouldn’t go away thinking that.”
last week salon Rob also had some questions.:
In your book, you call Carl Sagan’s dictum that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” a “logical fallacy.” How and why do you think there is some flaw or logical fallacy in that statement?
It is used as an excuse by people who do not want to deal with exciting possibilities. They don’t ask for evidence and claim, “Well, we don’t have any evidence…”
If we encountered extraterrestrial life, do you think we would find it or that extraterrestrial life would find us? Why?
I think you can find it nearby since most of the stars are there [formed] It is likely that other civilizations existed before us, billions of years before the sun was born. Because their stars, if they are anything like the Sun, have already experienced what we may experience in the future. All we need to do is be humble and modest and not assume that we are unique and special. Albert Einstein was the smartest scientist Who has lived since the Big Bang, and engages in the search for them.
The backlash in this situation is really weird because that’s what I’m trying to do and the people who are against it have very strong opinions. But if you look at the history of science, they were wrong very often. [who] For example, the Earth was thought to be the center of the universe.
From Loeb’s blog post:
I was asked this while jogging at sunrise on the deck of the Silver Star. “Are you running away from something, or are you running towards something?” My answer is, “Both. I’m running away from colleagues who have strong opinions without asking for evidence. And the stars We are striving towards a higher level of intelligence in interspace.”