I am Eagerly Following Avi Loeb’s Expedition, Part 2 (of 2)

The instruments aboard Avi Loeb's expedition ship are limited and provide only preliminary observations. The real analysis of the spherules will happen once the expedition has ended, and the team is back onshore.

I've lived long enough to expect that nothing conclusive about anything will come out of the expedition.

More than likely, I am keen to admit, is that IM1 has a natural origin. It is quite possible that the collected fragments aren't even from IM1 but have more mundane explanations, or analysis of the fragments are simply inconclusive. Avi Loeb is confident, however, that the fragments are from IM1 given that they were found all within the calculated path of IM1. Further, his team has collected samples from outside of the zone for control purposes, and no spherules were found.

If the fragments aredetermined to be interstellar in nature – and preliminary indications suggest that they are – but natural (a simple asteroid, for example, shot out of a supernova millions or billions of years ago), it still would be enormous news. We have moon rocks, and asteroids from Mars, but an interstellar rock would be even more fascinating. We would have physical fragments to study the composition of materials from outside our own galaxy.

Like I said in Part 1, though, if IM1 proves not only to be interstellar but also technological, then how revolutionary, and exciting that would be! Our whole world view would change. In fact, our individual 'world views' would morph into 'cosmic' or 'galactic' views.

Irredentism and war on earth, like the current conflict in Ukraine, would seem silly.

Once it becomes clear that Earth and humans are not alone and that life might very well be common and abundant throughout the universe, I would hope that our priorities as nations and individuals would change. Although outer space is already a relatively new frontier for humanity, it is still far from most people's minds. We rarely look up as we go about our everyday lives.

I would hope that that would change, and that we would work collectively and collaboratively as humans or Earthlings to protect our planet, secure our place in the Milky Way, and to join a community of intelligent life in the universe.