The spheres found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in 2023, which were speculated to be fragments of an alien spacecraft, actually have a very terrestrial origin. However, this is not about a grand hoax.
This is stated in a study by physicist Patricio A. Gallardo from the University of Chicago, published in the journal Research Notes of the AAS. The sensational claim about the spheres’ origin was previously made by eccentric Harvard physics professor Avi Loeb.
Loeb conducted extensive work and organized an expedition to discover debris from an interstellar meteorite (originating from outside the Solar System) on the ocean floor, which he believed had all the hallmarks of being not just an ordinary celestial body, but a product of alien intelligence.
When small round spherules were brought to the surface and analyzed, Loeb again claimed they had extraterrestrial origins. According to him, they contained “never-before-seen” elements and that the spherules themselves could be remnants of an alien spacecraft.
Despite Loeb’s serious status, his claim was immediately criticized for lacking convincing evidence. However, this doesn’t seem to deter the professor, who has made similarly sensational claims in the past, such as when he called the cigar-shaped comet Oumuamua a product of an alien civilization. He also once (together with a Pentagon representative) suggested that aliens in the Solar System could be launching probes to Earth.
Now, Gallardo seems to have decided to put an end to Loeb’s fantastic stories. According to him, the spheres have a completely earthly origin, and their composition indicates “contamination from terrestrial sources.”
“The meteorite origin is not credible,” Gallardo noted.
He explained that the conclusions drawn by Loeb involved little comparison with pollutants to rule out the most obvious hypothesis of terrestrial contamination.
He clarified that the spherules retrieved from the ocean are rich in three elements: beryllium, lanthanum, and uranium. The levels of lanthanum and uranium were 500 times higher than in Earth’s rocks, and beryllium levels were hundreds of times higher.
It was due to the presence of beryllium that Loeb claimed the spheres were of extraterrestrial origin, as this element is produced in a violent reaction (spallation) involving high-energy cosmic rays.
However, Gallardo disputes this version.
“The content of nickel, beryllium, lanthanum, and uranium was studied in the context of a known anthropogenic (human-made) source of pollution, and it was found to match the content in coal ash,” the physicist explained.
He added that similar spheres were found during a naval expedition in the Gulf of Mexico in 1976. The analysis of that find also revealed a similarity to coal ash, the waste from burning coal in power plants and steam engines.
