Scientists have discovered material on Earth that originated from outside the solar system in the first discovery of that kind, they claimed in a new study.
Study lead Israeli-American astrophysicist Avi Loeb explained that 700 particles were found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and are made of an alloy never before seen on Earth.
"This is a historic discovery because it represents the first time that humans put their hand on materials from a large object that arrived on Earth from outside the solar system," he said.
Loeb and team trying to prove material is alien
Loeb and his team spent about two weeks in June documenting the sea floor down to the smallest possible detail. They hoped to provide new proof to back their claim, and the professor said he was now sure of the results of the study.
In future research, Loeb hopes to prove whether the material simply came from alien technology or space rock from a 2014 meteor dubbed IM1.
The study has been met with much criticism and skepticism from Loeb's colleagues, some of whom claim that there wouldn't have been debris from the meteor if it was truly moving as fast as recorded.
"This is a historic discovery because it represents the first time that humans put their hand on materials from a large object that arrived on Earth from outside the solar system."
Prof. Avi Loeb
“They better retract their published claim that the US Space Command overestimated IM1’s speed by a large factor and that IM1 was a stony meteorite from the solar system," wrote Loeb in a blog in response to the criticism. “We now know that IM1 was interstellar. Instead of rejecting the data, they would be better off revising their model.”