On January 8, 2014, a meteorite headed north of Manus Island off the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea slammed into the ocean after crashing through Earth's atmosphere. Sensors across the United States captured its position, speed, and brightness, and filed the information away with other comparable incidents.For five years, no one questioned that information; in 2019, however, theoretical astrophysicist Avi Loeb and undergraduate student Amir Siraj at Harvard University discovered it. Mr. Siraj found that the fireball was a huge anomaly based on its recorded velocity and heading.