Convinced that an extraterrestrial body has been found, the Harvard astrophysicist will explore part of the Pacific Ocean

However, the task promises to be accurate. Indeed, even if the area of ​​potential impact were reduced, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, the physicist recognizes. The size of the fragments depends on the composition of the meteorite. If it were made of iron, Avi Loeb predicts there would be roughly a thousand pieces the size of a thousand millimeters on the ocean floor. On the other hand, if the meteorite was made of stainless steel, he would expect to find larger fragments, with dozens of fragments more than a centimeter long. The team plans to systematically search the ocean floor in the area for two weeks.

Singer is a sled with magnets, cameras and lights on the ocean floor.The researcher explains. They’ll use a device inspired by the Cosmic Muck Rack’s magnetic sled (image shared by researcher on Medium), which was developed in 2009 by University of Washington astronomer Don Brownlee in Seattle. The campaign, if all goes well, should launch this summer, according to the US site The Daily Beast. The researcher also indicated that he obtained from Papua New Guinea all necessary permits to conduct these investigations. The total cost of the operation, one and a half million dollars, with private funding from donors.