Meteor Strike: Sound Waves from 'Alien Meteor' That Entered Earth's Atmosphere Was Only Noise from a Truck

A meteor strike that entered Earth's atmosphere in 2014 was initially thought to be unusual since the sound waves it emitted were reportedly signals from "aliens." Based on a theory, the space object that crashed north of Papua New Guinea in Oceania was alien in origin and arrived from deep space. However, new research that will be presented at a conference in the United States shows the noise from the 'alien meteor' came from a passing truck.

Meteors can be either bits of rocks or ice ejected from comets as they traverse their orbits around the Sun, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Once it enters our planet's atmosphere, a meteor can glow brighter than the planet Venus. In this state, a meteor is called a fireball since the object can start to ignite upon contact with the atmosphere and disintegrate before hitting Earth's surface.

Alien Meteor

Significantly larger meteors make noises in the form of a sonic boom or sound waves as they pass through the atmosphere. In the case of the 2014 alien meteor, officially called CNEOS 2014-01-08, it entered our planet in January 2014 over the western Pacific Ocean. During this time, a seismic station in Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, recorded ground vibration data; where sensors initially detected a suspected interstellar signal.

For almost a decade, the meteor made headlines again after a scientific team visited the apparent impact location of the space rock. The scientists cleaned out debris from the seafloor bed which they speculated to contain potential alien technology. Yet, a follow-up seismic analysis of the space rock shows that the 2014 meteor may not struck the planet at all or it landed in a different located other than near Papua New Guinea.

In a media release by Johns Hopkins University (JHU) earlier in March 2024, a team of researchers from the educational institution based in Baltimore, Maryland, raised doubts. In particular, the team questioned that the materials from the 2014 meteor fireball collected in 2023 from the Pacific Ocean are alien by nature. JHU planetary seismologist Benjamin Fernando explains that the signal matches a road that passed through a seismometer.

Also Read: Giant 'Alien Comet' from Different Solar System Approaches Our Sun [Scientists]

Truck Noise

The JHU-led research will be presented at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas on Tuesday, March 12. In the JHU release on Thursday, March 7, Fernando stated the basis of attribution for the alien meteor relies on misinterpreted data and that the space object entered Earth's atmosphere but in a different location. Following their examination, the JHU found no evidence of seismic waves from the meteor.

In previous years, meteor strikes have impacted Earth's surface and become fragments called meteorites after surviving the trip through the atmosphere. Some of these events also produced significant sound waves as they were observed in our planet's skies. In May 2023, a fireball meteor emitting orange-yellow light burned through Queensland's atmosphere and produced a sonic boom.