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Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth

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Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
First edition cover (Hardcover)
AuthorAvi Loeb
PublisherHoughton Mifflin Harcourt (Hardcover)
Publication date
26 January 2021
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages240
ISBN978-0358278146

Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth (also known as Extraterrestrial)[1][2] is a popular science book written by American theoretical physicist and Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb,[3][4][5] published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on 26 January 2021.[6][7]

Contents

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The book describes the 2017 detection of ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System.[8][9] Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard University, speculates that the object might be an extraterrestrial artifact,[10] a suggestion considered unlikely by the scientific community collectively.[11][12][13][14] Earlier, Loeb claimed to have demonstrated that the interstellar object was not an asteroid, was moving too fast in a very unusual orbit and left no gas trail or debris in its path to be a comet.[15][16] Loeb believes, due to the observed acceleration of the object near the Sun, that ʻOumuamua may be a thin disk that acts as a solar sail.[2] Further, Loeb and colleagues demonstrated that the object is unlikely to be frozen hydrogen, as proposed by other researchers.[17][better source needed][18]

Elizabeth Kolbert of The New Yorker magazine summarized the reasoning used by Avi Loeb about ʻOumuamua as follows:

The only way to make sense of ʻOumuamua’s strange acceleration, without resorting to some sort of undetectable outgassing, is to assume that the object was propelled by solar radiation—essentially, photons bouncing off its surface. And the only way the object could be propelled by solar radiation is if it were extremely thin—no thicker than a millimetre—with a very low density and a comparatively large surface area. Such an object would function as a sail—one powered by light, rather than by wind. The natural world doesn’t produce sails; people do. ... Loeb writes, "ʻOumuamua must have been designed, built, and launched by an extraterrestrial intelligence."

— The New Yorker[19]

Besides ʻOumuamua, another interstellar object, the comet 2I/Borisov, has been detected passing through the Solar System. In comparison, 2I/Borisov has been found to be natural, whereas ʻOumuamua has not been so determined.[2] The possibility that ʻOumuamua may be alien technology has not been ruled out, although such an explanation is considered unlikely by most scientists.[8] Nonetheless, according to Loeb, "We should be open-minded and search for evidence rather than assume that everything we see in the sky must be rocks."[20][21]

Reviews

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Alan Lightman writes the book is "provocative and thrilling," and commends Loeb for suggesting that readers "think big and to expect the unexpected."[1] Jeff Foust, editor and publisher of The Space Review, comments that Loeb "fails to close the case that the object must be artificial ... Just because something can’t be immediately explained by natural phenomena doesn't mean it’s not natural." Further, "Perhaps ʻOumuamua will turn out to be the first of many in a new class of interstellar objects with an unusual, but natural, origin. Or, maybe, it will be like the “Wow!” signal, which was never seen again and its source never identified; mysterious, but not necessarily alien".[22] Dennis Overbye, science writer for The New York Times, notes that the book is, "part graceful memoir and part plea for keeping an open mind about the possibilities of what is out there in the universe — in particular, life. Otherwise, he says, we might miss something amazing, like the church officials in the 17th century who refused to look through Galileo’s telescope."[23] Reviewing for The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert writes, "It seems a good deal more likely that [the book] will be ranked with von Däniken's work than with Galileo's," but concedes "it's thrilling to imagine the possibilities."[19]

On August 24, 2023, The New York Times published an article about Loeb and his related search for signs of extraterrestrial life and his related publications.[24]

A followup book, entitled Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars, was published on August 29, 2023.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^ a b Andersen, Travis; Arnett, Dugan (4 January 2021). "In new book, Harvard astronomer pushes theory about object that passed through solar system; alien world may have sent it". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Whitwam, Ryan (5 January 2021). "Harvard Astronomer Still Believes Interstellar Object Was Alien Technology". Extreme Tech. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  3. ^ Schulze-Makuch, Dirk (5 January 2021). "The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth? - Examining this and other intriguing questions at the start of 2021". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  4. ^ Staff (8 January 2021). "Object that whizzed by Earth probably came from alien world, Harvard professor asserts". CBS News. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  5. ^ Lincoln, Don (4 February 2021). "Why astronomers are interested in this mysterious signal". CNN News. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  6. ^ Staff (2020). "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. ^ Staff. "Second Annual Yip Lecture: Extraterrestrial Life by Avi Loeb - Spring 2021". Harvard University. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b Letzer, Ran (19 August 2020). "Interstellar visitor ʻOumuamua could still be alien technology, new study hints - Aliens? Or a chunk of solid hydrogen? Which idea makes less sense?". Live Science. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  9. ^ Manjoo, Farhad (11 February 2021). "Aliens Must Be Out There - Why aren't we looking for them?". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  10. ^ Loeb, Avi (22 June 2021). "A Possible Link between ʻOumuamua and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena - If some UAP turn out to be extraterrestrial technology, they could be dropping sensors for a subsequent craft to tune into. What if ʻOumuamua is such a craft?". Scientific American. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  11. ^ Shalvey, Kevin (3 January 2021). "A Harvard professor has claimed in his new book that alien debris passed near Earth in 2017. It has attracted both skepticism and intrigue". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  12. ^ Staff (26 October 2020). "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
  13. ^ The ʻOumuamua ISSI Team (1 July 2019). "The natural history of ʻOumuamua" (PDF). Nature Astronomy. 3 (7): 594–602. arXiv:1907.01910. Bibcode:2019NatAs...3..594O. doi:10.1038/s41550-019-0816-x. S2CID 195791768.
  14. ^ Starr, Michelle (1 July 2019). "Astronomers Have Analysed Claims ʻOumuamua's an Alien Ship, And It's Not Looking Good". Science Alert.com. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  15. ^ Loeb, Abraham (20 November 2018). "6 Strange Facts about the Interstellar Visitor ʻOumuamua". Scientific American. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  16. ^ Chotiner, Isaac (16 January 2019). "Have Aliens Found Us? A Harvard Astronomer on the Mysterious Interstellar Object ʻOumuamua". The New Yorker. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  17. ^ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (17 August 2020). "Scientists determine ʻOumuamua isn't made from molecular hydrogen ice after all". Phys.org. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  18. ^ Hoang, Thiem; Loeb, Abraham (17 August 2020). "Destruction of Molecular Hydrogen Ice and Implications for 1I/2017 U1 (ʻOumuamua)". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 899 (2): L23. arXiv:2006.08088. Bibcode:2020ApJ...899L..23H. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/abab0c.
  19. ^ a b Kolbert, Elizabeth (18 January 2021). "Have We Already Been Visited by Aliens?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  20. ^ Karlis, Nicole (15 January 2021). "Why physicist Avi Loeb thinks there's a "serious possibility" that ʻOumuamua was an alien spacecraft - It's a "serious possibility that we should contemplate," Loeb says in his new book on the bizarre space object". Salon. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  21. ^ Loeb, Avi (11 September 2021). "Looking for Interstellar Monuments - An ancient civilization from a distant star could have created immortal machines to roam the Milky Way and keep its legacy alive". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  22. ^ Foust, Jeff (11 January 2021). "Review: Extraterrestrial". The Space Review. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  23. ^ Overbye, Dennis (26 January 2021). "Did an Alien Life-Form Do a Drive-By of Our Solar System in 2017?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  24. ^ a b Fletcher, Seth (24 August 2023). "How a Harvard Professor Became the World's Leading Alien Hunter - Avi Loeb's single-minded search for extraterrestrial life has made him the most famous practicing astronomer in the country — and possibly the most controversial. + comment". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ^ Tingley, -Brett (20 July 2023). "Interstellar meteor fragments found? Harvard astronomer's claim sparks debate, criticism - Avi Loeb is no stranger to controversy". Space.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
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