In January of 2014, an interstellar meteorite named CNEOS 2014-01-08 plummeted into the earth’s atmosphere before landing in the Pacific Ocean. Now, some eight years later, a group of scientists from Harvard are preparing to remove the rock by using a large magnet in an effort known as the Galileo Project.

Measuring the Meteor’s Impact

According to a report from Live Science, the energy released from the meteor was equal to 121 tons of TNT. For comparison, researchers say that is roughly 1% of the energy from the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War 2. In terms of size, the meteor is said to be just over 1.5 feet wide.  In 2019, the team released data saying they were 99% sure of where the rock came from. Their theory was confirmed in April of this year when the U.S. Space Command verified that it was an interstellar object thanks to censors typically used for security through the missile defense program.

The Removal Process

The group fronting the project says it will use a magnetic sled with the intention of retrieving fragments of the meteor. Amir Siraj, an astrophysicist from Harvard and the author of a paper about the space rock, says the magnet should work due to the high iron contents in the remains.  He continues by saying the sled will be dropped in the Bismarck Sea in the southwest Pacific Ocean and then moved along the sea bed for 10 days. The process is expected to cost around $1.6 million and will be funded by private donors. As for the team’s desire to study the rock, Ali Loeb of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy believes the findings could show alien technology. In order to test his theory, the meteor has to be retrieved and examined. For now, it is unknown when this process will actually take place. Reports say they have only raised about half a million dollars so far.

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