Scientific discovery gets kind of government seal of approval
Known as CNEOS 2014-01-08, the meteor measured only 1.5 feet wide and was hurtling toward Earth at about 45 kilometers per second, well over 100,000 mph, which is a clue that it’s not from this solar system. The meteor ignited into a fireball on Jan. 8, 2014, when it entered Earth’s atmosphere off the coast of Papua, New Guinea, with the energy equivalent to about 110 metric tons of TNT. It may have sprinkled fragments into the Pacific Ocean. CNEOS 2014-01-08 is now the third interstellar object that has been confirmed, along with Oumuamua and the comet 2I/Borisov. … the researchers are currently looking into an ocean expedition to search the ocean floor off the coast of Papua New Guinea for pieces of the 2014 meteor.
“If we were able to recover any fragments from this meteor, it would represent the first time that humanity has ever touched a rock from beyond our solar system,” Siraj said.
This reminds me strongly of the Egyptian sarcophagus — I mean the giant creepy black one that had been closed for 2000 years. The one that obviously constituted a prompt for a fantasy thriller. Or maybe a horror novel.
In the same way, here we are, an interstellar meteor that struck Earth and (probably) broke up into pieces. Or maybe not! Maybe if you go poking around on the ocean floor off the coast of Papua New Guinea, you’ll find something that didn’t break up in the atmosphere … This is making me think of the movie Alien vs Predator. Don’t go poking at the mysterious object that crashed to Earth!
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As a writer, I will add, that headline would be more effective this way: Scientific discovery gets government seal of approval, kind of.
Stick the fun part of the headline at the end to increase visibility and add coolness to the whole headline!
Giant black sarcophagus to be opened Tuesday: “Not creepy at all,” claims lead researcher.
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After they opened that sarcophagus, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (no, seriously, that’s his job title) was quoted by Reuters:
“We’ve opened it and, thank God, the world has not fallen into darkness, said Waziri. “I was the first to put my whole head inside the sarcophagus… and here I stand before you … I am fine.”
I really hope that was an elegant troll and not just a muddy translation of something not as obviously referential in Arabic.
Supreme Council of Antiquities? Wow, I need to come up with flowery titles for officials in some book sometime.