Here’s what you’ll learn in this story:
- A mysterious metal shard captured the imagination of the American public, because it was supposedly from a 1947 UFO that crashed on Earth.
- The sample seemed to have an unprecedented material structure that could indicate an extraterrestrial technosignature, or sign of alien technology.
- Scientists studying the specimen for its terahertz waveguide properties found a mix of different elements, mainly magnesium and zinc. Read on to learn what else they discovered.
As Earthlings, we’re curious about whether alien civilizations like ours are out there, or if they exist at all. That’s why scientists were intrigued when a mysterious shard of metal found on Earth exhibited signs that it might have come from intelligent minds on a distant planet.
This peculiar specimen fell to Earth around 1947 in the supposed UFO wreck. It seemed linked to the infamous Roswell incident, in which members of the general public believed was a flying saucer had crashed to Earth. However, the debris found in Roswell actually turned out to be from a U.S. Air Force balloon meant to spy on Soviet nuclear experiments.
The true origins of the metallic specimen, were debated for decades. The sample had an apparently unprecedented material structure that could indicate an extraterrestrial technosignature, or sign of alien technology.
Eventually, Blink-182 frontman and UFO enthusiast Tom DeLonge’s To the Stars Academy, an organization that independently researches possible alien phenomena, got a hold of it. Then, the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), which investigates unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) for the U.S. government, took over the investigation. It was seeking to learn of any physical and chemical properties that made the object potentially capable of inertial mass reduction—levitation.
It turned out that the object was a magnesium alloy whose main components are magnesium and zinc. It also contains bismuth, lead, and other trace elements.
AARO asked Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to conduct an analysis in 2022 because scientists were especially interested in whether the sample was of terrestrial origin and if its bismuth content meant it could have possibly been used by aliens as a terahertz waveguide, a metal object that directs electromagnetic waves emitted by an energy source. ORNL was originally established during WWII to investigate things such as atomic weapons, and most of what its scientists investigate is still energy-related. However, the lab has also studied materials suspected to be extraterrestrial.
This metal shard specimen “purportedly exhibits extraordinary properties,” according to AARO and ORNL’s recently published findings on the object.
ORNL scientists looked for evidence of life beyond our planet by studying the sample for possible biosignatures, which are naturally occurring substances associated with life, and technosignatures, which are signs of extraterrestrial technology that scientists seek out especially when searching for intelligent life.
Some UAPs might have both.
In looking for alien biosignatures, ORNL scientists wanted to see whether the metals in this alloy were from Earth. That meant investigating their isotopic signatures, which represent the ratios of different element isotopes—different atomic mass versions of the same element.
Analysis showed that the isotopic signatures of magnesium and lead indicated a terrestrial origin. The magnesium’s isotopic signature had undergone some separation of lighter and heavier isotopes, probably due to stress from heat and physical or chemical manufacturing processes. However, it was still within the normal range for magnesium that forms on Earth—not an alien biosignature.
The magnesium in this sample also showed a proportion of isotopes that occurs only in our solar system, strengthening the case for a local origin. Scientists know this because the isotopic signature of magnesium originally comes from a particular star-forming region and so is unique to each star system. Magnesium is an extremely common element in the universe, produced in great amounts by larger, older stars that scatter it into space when they die and go supernova. It is often recycled by young star systems, where it forms a unique isotopic signature, depending on the conditions.
The lead in the object also matched the isotopic signatures for lead that originates on Earth. These signatures are so distinct that there is no way they could have come from any other body—even the moon.
With no alien biosignatures present in the sample, the ORNL scientists turned their attention to technosignatures. Scanning transmission electron microscopy revealed that the crystalline structure of the magnesium was similar to the magnesium in alloys manufactured on Earth. With that confirmed, they tried to determine if the sample could have been part of a terahertz waveguide.
Waveguides are metal objects that transmit electromagnetic waves. For example, the magnetron in your microwave oven transmits waves to the main oven cavity, where they heat up leftovers. A terahertz waveguide levels up this technology with much more intense terahertz waves, hypothetically enough to levitate an object if built using the right methods and materials.
“Based on the technologies developed by humans, waveguides can only channel radiation for purposes of communication, data collection, or heating but the conjecture for the UAP was that they were used for levitation,” says Harvard University theoretical physicist Avi Loeb, PhD, who was not involved in the study. “That would represent a technology unknown to humans.”
To qualify as a piece of alien technology, the sample would need to have a single layer of pure bismuth between layers of the magnesium alloy. This is because unadulterated bismuth can guide energy just like the magnetron in your microwave. Unlike anything in your microwave, bismuth is capable of directing terahertz waves. The problem is that the bismuth in this sample is neither pure nor in a single layer. There are multiple layers of bismuth between the magnesium layers, and the bismuth itself contains lead, both of which would disrupt its functioning as a waveguide.
“ORNL has a high level of confidence that all data indicate the material was manufactured terrestrially—albeit using an uncommon mixture of elements by today’s standards—and then incurred damage caused by mechanical and heat stressors,” according to the report.
After seeing the analysis, To the Stars released a statement on its website, anticipating a meeting between its own scientists and the ORNL team. In particular, To the Stars is hoping to learn more because “the reports do not offer a firm conclusion as to the origin and purpose of the material along with other seeming anomalies. [To the Stars] has more questions about both reports.”
While we still don’t know exactly where on Earth the mysterious sample came from, all indications show that it belongs to our own planet. There is a likely origin story behind this object—it might be a product of post-WWII magnesium alloy research for lighter and stronger aircraft. Back then, magnesium alloys were poorly understood, according to the report.
Maybe this artifact wasn’t part of a larger piece of technology manufactured by alien hands, or whatever appendages and machines they might use. Still, this was a valuable exercise, because ruling out objects that originated on Earth only gives us a better idea of what could be truly extraterrestrial.
Elizabeth Rayne is a creature who writes. Her work has appeared in Popular Mechanics, Ars Technica, SYFY WIRE, Space.com, Live Science, Den of Geek, Forbidden Futures and Collective Tales. She lurks right outside New York City with her parrot, Lestat. When not writing, she can be found drawing, playing the piano or shapeshifting.