Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
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- Create Date：2021-01-29 04:18:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Avi Loeb
- ISBN：9780358278146
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Summary
“Provocative and thrilling 。。。 Loeb asks us to think big and to expect the unexpected。”—Alan Lightman， New York Times bestselling author of Einstein’s Dreams and Searching for Stars on an Island in MaineHarvard’s top astronomer lays out his controversial theory that our solar system was recently visited by advanced alien technology from a distant star。 In late 2017， scientists at a Hawaiian observatory glimpsed an object soaring through our inner solar system， moving so quickly that it could only have come from another star。 Avi Loeb， Harvard’s top astronomer， showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit， and left no trail of gas or debris in its wake。 There was only one conceivable explanation: the object was a piece of advanced technology created by a distant alien civilization。 In Extraterrestrial， Loeb takes readers inside the thrilling story of the first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system。 He outlines his controversial theory and its profound implications: for science， for religion， and for the future of our species and our planet。 A mind-bending journey through the furthest reaches of science， space-time， and the human imagination， Extraterrestrial challenges readers to aim for the stars—and to think critically about what’s out there， no matter how strange it seems。
Editor Reviews
11/09/2020
Intelligent life is out there—or at least its cast-off equipment is—and it’s time earthlings dealt with it， argues Harvard physicist Loeb （The First Galaxies in the Universe） in this contentious manifesto。 The author’s concerns are twofold: first， he believes there is evidence for extraterrestrial life。 Second， he posits that humans aren’t prepared to accept that fact。 This survey， then， is a brief on alien life and its implications for humanity。 Loeb bases his case on ‘Oumuamua， an interstellar object that baffled scientists when it appeared in 2017。 Based on its shape， brightness， and trajectory， Loeb proposes it could be a reflective light sail made by extraterrestrial life。 While his advice on how to find inhabited exoplanets is often ingenious （“one can distinguish an artificial source of light by the way it dims as it recedes from us”）， less cogent is his attack on astronomical orthodoxy， which he considers too dismissive of research into extraterrestrial intelligence。 He suggests that finding extraterrestrial life will help cure human arrogance and self-destructiveness: aliens， he contends， are likely to be “superior being” who can reveal “the meaning of life，” though he also speculates they could turn out to be existentialists who believe that “life is absurd。” Loeb’s thought-provoking work of popular science will entertain those who wonder if humans are alone in the universe。 Photos。 （Jan。）
Reviews
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linda Shwab
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Griping tale The author takes us on a journey with science and metaphor。 A real page turner！ Was aware of some of these events but the politics of 2020 distracted me。
George V Donatello
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Lots of anticipation big let downI could not wait to read this book and kept searching ahead to find some meat in the narration。lots of circumstational facts and very little in actual observation of what the object was。I was left puzzled as to to what I learned by reading the book。Very little I am afraid。
Jake
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A series of personal anecdotes and hypotheses from avi loeb on ʻOumuamua。 Not sure if his hypothesis has any merit to be honest but his desire for an open mind and enterprise was refreshing。
Lou
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Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth is a provocative and fascinating book written by American theoretical physicist and Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb。 The book describes the 2017 detection of ʻOumuamua， the first known interstellar object passing through the Solar System。 Loeb speculates that the object might possibly be from an alien civilization in a far distant star system， a conclusion that is considerered unlikely by the scientific community。 Earlier， Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth is a provocative and fascinating book written by American theoretical physicist and Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb。 The book describes the 2017 detection of ʻOumuamua， the first known interstellar object passing through the Solar System。 Loeb speculates that the object might possibly be from an alien civilization in a far distant star system， a conclusion that is considerered unlikely by the scientific community。 Earlier， Loeb 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。 Loeb believes， due to the observed acceleration of the object near the sun， that ʻOumuamua may be a very thin disk that acts as a solar sail of some sort。Further， Loeb and colleagues demonstrated that the object was unlikely to be frozen hydrogen as proposed earlier by other researchers。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 clearly natural， whereas ʻOumuamua has not been so determined。 Accordingly， the possibility that ʻOumuamua may be alien technology has not been entirely ruled out， although such an explanation is considered very unlikely by most scientists。 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”。 His peers contend that just because something can’t be immediately explained by natural phenomena it doesn't mean it’s not natural。 It is clear from the very beginning that Loeb strongly believes there is evidence of extraterrestrials out there and he postulates that many humans aren't prepared to accept that as fact。 Many of his fellow astronomers aren't ready to accept that fact either。Loeb counters that it is arrogant of humanity to assume that we are alone and that the indisputable discovery of ET life would transform our way of living。 Impacting religion to philosophy and a multitude of other areas， this is a thought-provoking polemic for those interested in the meaning of life and if indeed we are alone or whether we share this vastness with alien beings far superior to ourselves。 Engaging， intriguing and academic though accessible， this is a deep probe that thoroughly examines the possibilities。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Aaron Akbar
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An astrophysicist chooses to probe the questions his colleagues think they already have answers to。 In doing so， he creates a strong case for bravely exploring the unknown with wonder and an open mind。 His conclusions are as surprising as they are inevitable。A wonderful and engaging read that urges its readers bravely out of popular consensus and into a rare purified scientific inquiry。 Suspension of disbelief is part of that journey， and the payoff is a recovery of childhood wonder without sacr An astrophysicist chooses to probe the questions his colleagues think they already have answers to。 In doing so， he creates a strong case for bravely exploring the unknown with wonder and an open mind。 His conclusions are as surprising as they are inevitable。A wonderful and engaging read that urges its readers bravely out of popular consensus and into a rare purified scientific inquiry。 Suspension of disbelief is part of that journey， and the payoff is a recovery of childhood wonder without sacrificing truth。 This is a rare book that holds both。 。。。more
Pete
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Extraterrestrial : The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth （2021） by Avi Loeb is a really interesting book that examines the case for finding extraterrestrials and looks in detail at Oumuamua， the strange object that passed through our solar system in 2017。 Loeb is the chair of the Astronomy department at Harvard which lends more credibility to the book。For anyone interested in the theme who is wondering if it’s reading the book it’s well worth listening to Lex Fridman podcast interview Extraterrestrial : The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth （2021） by Avi Loeb is a really interesting book that examines the case for finding extraterrestrials and looks in detail at Oumuamua， the strange object that passed through our solar system in 2017。 Loeb is the chair of the Astronomy department at Harvard which lends more credibility to the book。For anyone interested in the theme who is wondering if it’s reading the book it’s well worth listening to Lex Fridman podcast interview with Loeb。 It’s an excellent interview。The book first examines the details surrounding Oumuamua。 There Loeb details how the shape and behaviour of Oumuamua was incredibly irregular。 Loeb describes how he thinks it’s more likely that the object was a probe fitted with a lightsail。 It’s a remarkable hypothesis that seems to really have something to it。Loeb also writes about the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative。 The Russian billionaire Yuri Milner wants to fund a probe to travel to another solar system and send information back within his lifetime。 A solar sail propelled by a powerful laser would appear to be able to do this。Loeb interleaves his description of Oumuamua and the star sail with events from his life。 He also uses the statement from Sherlock Holmes ‘When you have eliminated the impossible， whatever remains， however improbable， must be the truth。’ to forward his hypothesis of intelligent extraterrestrial origin for Oumuamua。Loeb then makes a very strong case that humanity should be investing considerably more into searching for extraterrestrial life。 He suggests that searching for many esoteric objects that physicist’s theories predict， such as superstrings or exotic particles， is a considerably worse way to spend money。 He undermines his case slightly by pointing out that various new telescopes will be used to search the skies and will also be able to look at celestial items in more detail and that this will be， in part， used to search for extraterrestrial life。 But Loeb does make the case well that more deliberate effort should be made for the searching for extraterrestrial life and it definitely should be something that isn’t a fringe activity or something that is unlikely to advance an academic career。It would be interesting to read a counterpoint to Loeb’s proposals。 Just having read the book it’s hard to see why Loeb’s ideas don’t make sense。The book does really make you suspect that proof of extraterrestrial life will be found in the next few decades。 With increasingly powerful instruments and hopefully more powerful instruments we will finally find conclusive signs of alien life。 This book is definitely worth a look for anyone interested in the subject。 。。。more
Manny
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On October 19 2017， astronomers at an observatory in Hawaii noticed an unusual fast-moving object about twenty million miles from Earth。 This soon became known as 'Oumuamua， a Hawaiian word meaning something like "scout"。 'Oumuamua's orbit could easily be plotted， which showed that it came from outside the Solar System and was heading back into the interstellar depths。 No one could figure out what it was。 It looked a bit like an asteroid， but people discovered that its orbit was changing， indica On October 19 2017， astronomers at an observatory in Hawaii noticed an unusual fast-moving object about twenty million miles from Earth。 This soon became known as 'Oumuamua， a Hawaiian word meaning something like "scout"。 'Oumuamua's orbit could easily be plotted， which showed that it came from outside the Solar System and was heading back into the interstellar depths。 No one could figure out what it was。 It looked a bit like an asteroid， but people discovered that its orbit was changing， indicating that some force other than gravity was acting on it。 Comets do this; as you might remember from Armageddon and Deep Impact， the heat of the Sun vaporises frozen gases to form natural rocket engines， the exhausts from which turn into the comet's tail。 But 'Oumuamua had no visible tail。Further observation made 'Oumuamua look even odder。 Not only was there a force acting on the object， that force was being smoothly applied and was inversely proportional to the square of the object's distance from the Sun; jets from comets are not smooth， but stop and start haphazardly。 Also， the brightness of the object varied according to a regular eight hour cycle。 At maximum， it was about ten times brighter than at minimum。 That seemed to show it was rotating， and also that it was very far from spherical。 Either it was an extremely elongated cylinder or else a flat disk。 Detailed models suggested that a disk shape gave the best fit to the data。 Unfortunately， it was impossible to get a detailed picture。 By the time it was picked up， 'Oumuamua was already well on its way back into the outer darkness。 All you could see was a point， and after another eleven days it could no longer be tracked。Whatever could 'Oumuamua be？ After a while， the mainstream hypothesis was that it was an chunk of solid hydrogen， a "hydrogen iceberg"。 Hydrogen wouldn't leave a visible trail when it boiled off， but many questions remained。 Hydrogen icebergs are supposed to exist in certain distant regions of interstellar space， but it was hard to explain how one could have travelled all the way to our Solar System without evaporating en route。 It was even harder to explain why it had such an unusual shape， or how the hydrogen boiled off to produce such an even thrust。 A more daring hypothesis was advanced by the author of this book: 'Oumuamua was an alien spaceship fitted with a lightsail。 That got the attention of the world's press for a while， but the scientific community refused to take the idea seriously。 With all its faults， they preferred the hydrogen iceberg theory。This book is an attempt to reopen the case， which has been quietly filed away as "just one of those weird things"。 Avi Loeb， author and the main proponent of the alien spaceship theory， is about as far from being a UFO crank as it's possible to get。 He was the Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy for ten years and has an outstanding publication record。 He comes across as engaging， modest， mild-mannered and completely sane。 He says many times that he's disappointed his colleagues won't do their duty as scientists and simply follow the data where it leads。 The problem， as every member of today's scientific community knows， is that most people can't afford to follow the data; they need to follow the grant money。 Pursuing ideas that sound cranky or are simply unfashionable may get you labelled unfundable and end your career。Loeb says， politely but firmly， that this has created a ridiculous situation。 It's safe to investigate the notion that the universe has ten dimensions， when there isn't a single piece of evidence to show that six of them exist; but it's not safe to investigate the idea that a mysterious object in the sky could be an alien spaceship， despite the fact that there is a great deal of supporting evidence。 String theory is fashionable， alien civilizations are not。 That's all there is to it。 We don't know whether there are any alien civilizations: there's no strong argument for or against。 If we aren't prepared to look at possible evidence even when it's thrust under our noses， we'll never find out。 The question is， to put it mildly， of general interest。 Loeb elaborates on these themes。I found the book utterly captivating and read it in a day。 The only criticism I'd make is that I'd have liked more on the details of the 'Oumuamua data and less polemic against the scientific establishment。 Two questions in particular kept occurring to me。 First， I couldn't visualise how the lightsail scenario worked: if the lightsail is pointing away from the Sun， which I thought it had to do， around which axis is the spaceship supposed to be rotating in order to get the observed changes in brightness？ I'm guessing someone has mocked up an animated simulation， and it would have been great to get a link。 Second， has anyone been able to figure out where 'Oumuamua is headed after looping round the Sun？ Using a lightsail to apply thrust would imply that it could have been making a course correction。 If it looked like it was moving towards a nearby star， that would support the spaceship hypothesis。 But I'm nitpicking。 Read this book， then complain to your Congressman or MP that the scientific funding model needs revision。 Fashion is great on the catwalk， it shouldn't be this important in the physics department。____________________PS My local fashion expert tells me that fashion is bullshit on the catwalk too。 I stand corrected。 。。。more
David Agranoff
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Before the review let me drop the links for my interview with the author Dr。 Loeb！https://podcasts。apple。com/gb/podcast。。。https://open。spotify。com/episode/5TBq。。。https://youtu。be/hol7AhqEf4UWhy study the universe without a sense of wonder and humility at all？ Why are those two things so important？ Scientists and researchers that peer out into the cosmic vastness of space can’t do it without wonder。 For me， I can’t look at the night sky without those two things。 I know we might as well be a frog Before the review let me drop the links for my interview with the author Dr。 Loeb！https://podcasts。apple。com/gb/podcast。。。https://open。spotify。com/episode/5TBq。。。https://youtu。be/hol7AhqEf4UWhy study the universe without a sense of wonder and humility at all？ Why are those two things so important？ Scientists and researchers that peer out into the cosmic vastness of space can’t do it without wonder。 For me， I can’t look at the night sky without those two things。 I know we might as well be a frog in well there is so little we can see in our tiny little window to the universe。 How can you not wonder or feel humbled？One of my passions besides Horror and Science Fiction is space and astronomy。 I listen weekly to several astronomy podcasts and constantly searching for videos on various topics related to that passion。 Over the last few years， one of the voices that cut through for me was Avi Loeb。I know it seems silly to say about an astronomer but bravery comes to mind when I think of his sense of wonder。 He is not afraid to speculate or think wild or outside the box ideas。 He is still a scientist so through a slew of papers over the years he has backed up those ideas。 A few years ago he stepped out into the media spotlight with one of those ideas。 This was after Oumuamua the interstellar object was discovered racing through our solar system。 Loeb pointed out that it was most likely a piece of technology。 So， you see that is a huge deal because that would be proof that intelligent extraterrestrial life was indeed out there。 They may have lived and died millions of years ago， and this object may have traveled long after it was gone or maybe it is a scout it is hard to say but one of the points of this book is we should try and find out。 I know people were hoping that a flying saucer would land on the lawn of the White House but the truth is much more likely to be something less splashy。 Look I am not the astronomer， I don’t have to choose my words as carefully when you look at what Oumuamua did it is pretty fucking rad。 This object came on a path from above turned at an incredible speed through changed directions when the orbit of Mars and out past Saturn in a totally different direction。“instructive to view things from ‘Oumuamua’s vantage point。 From that object’s perspective， it was at rest and our solar system slammed into it。 Or， in a way that works both metaphorically and， maybe， literally， perhaps ‘Oumuamua was like a buoy resting in the expanse of the universe， and our solar system was like a ship that ran into it at high speed。”Almost no one besides Loeb in the academic community has even considered the idea of thinking like Oumuamua。 It is a simple thing but it shows a willingness to think about this object in new ways。 What kind of arrogance does it take to see something like this and assume that we know what it is already。What Loeb points out several ways in this book is that scientists afraid to admit the unconventional conclusion are bending over backward to try and explain how this happened naturally。 The cool thing about this book is it tells Loeb’s story in parallel with the story and science of Oumuamua。 Going from the small farm he grew up on to doing astronomy at Harvard we get to understand the person at the center of this story。 We can see why Loeb would be the one raising the flag for this discovery。It is that， a discovery。 No one debates that but the debate is this。 Did the discovery of Oumuamua show us the answer to one of the questions humanity has struggled with since we have had written language？Loeb makes a really great case yes Oumuamua is one of the greatest discoveries in human history， the funny part is most don’t see it that way。 We only had a few months as a species to observe Oumuamua， but that doesn’t mean we might not get another chance， and more importantly， if we open our minds and bet on Oumuamua being alien technology we can look with fresh eyes at the data we have。More importantly towards the end of the book， Loeb explains how and why this species hell-bent on self-destruction through nuclear weapons and human-directed climate change need to make this bet now。“A more ambitious bet would be to learn from what we imagine a more mature civilization might have attempted。 To take the small scientific leap and allow the possibility ‘Oumuamua was extraterrestrial technology is to give humanity the small nudge toward thinking like a civilization that could have left a lightsail buoy for our solar system to run into。 It is to nudge us not just to imagine alien spacecraft but to contemplate the construction of our own such craft。”Oumuamua can and should be the call to this species to think like earthlings and mature。 Yeah， I loved this book and I am happy to say I will have Professor Loeb on my podcast soon。 Pre-order this book and look out for the interview。 。。。more
Amit Verma
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I like to read space and astronomy book。This book is by scientist who is at a very respectable postion in space science community。Author focuses book on an atypical comet （ unidentified object） that sped through solar system in 2017。It was atypical in its speed， trajectory and many things which made author to assume that it was from extraterrestrial civilization。 A very big claim。Alongwith that book focuses on projects working to find alien life including SETI program。 And book also has concept I like to read space and astronomy book。This book is by scientist who is at a very respectable postion in space science community。Author focuses book on an atypical comet （ unidentified object） that sped through solar system in 2017。It was atypical in its speed， trajectory and many things which made author to assume that it was from extraterrestrial civilization。 A very big claim。Alongwith that book focuses on projects working to find alien life including SETI program。 And book also has concepts like Sail for interstellar travel。A good book that is written in enjoyable prose。 A treat for reader wanting to read about our efforts to search extraterrestrial life。An intresting book to read but claim seems too far fetched。 。。。more
Lissa
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4。5 stars。 In 2017 a cylinder shaped object， Oumuamua， flew through our solar system and briefly provided data for astrophysicists to study。 While it was widely determined to be interstellar， the theory that it is a technological artifact from an alien civilization was quickly discarded by many scientists。。。but not by the author。 He advocates for a daring approach to science where we step outside the conservative confines of what is thought to be possible and instead use the data to make bold hy 4。5 stars。 In 2017 a cylinder shaped object， Oumuamua， flew through our solar system and briefly provided data for astrophysicists to study。 While it was widely determined to be interstellar， the theory that it is a technological artifact from an alien civilization was quickly discarded by many scientists。。。but not by the author。 He advocates for a daring approach to science where we step outside the conservative confines of what is thought to be possible and instead use the data to make bold hypotheses。 I thought this an amazing exploration of what science is capable of， if allowed to take chances。 This was easily readable science but also intermixed with a philosophical analyzation of what discovering alien artifacts would mean for our own civilization。 On a side note， the cover for this book is stunning and I found myself studying it between every chapter。 I received a digital ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
J Earl
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Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth by Avi Loeb makes an interesting and compelling case for both extraterrestrial life and thinking outside the box （or at least being willing to push against the sides）。It actually took me a little while to get into the book， it starts almost like a memoir。 But that short bit sets up the aspect of the argument that urges us to think big picture and to not get too stuck in our own specialties that we are essentially wearing blinders。 Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth by Avi Loeb makes an interesting and compelling case for both extraterrestrial life and thinking outside the box （or at least being willing to push against the sides）。It actually took me a little while to get into the book， it starts almost like a memoir。 But that short bit sets up the aspect of the argument that urges us to think big picture and to not get too stuck in our own specialties that we are essentially wearing blinders。 If the first part makes you consider putting the book down， don't， it will all come together and be worth it。The writing is accessible and suitable for any reader with an interest in the topic。 Enough science to support his theory， all explained clearly。 Big ideas expressed with an openness and curiosity that will make active readers consider the possibilities。I think we all tend to have less of a problem with abstractly or theoretically accepting an idea than with actually acknowledging something tangible that might support that idea。 It seems that while many scientists have no problem believing that there is likely to be some form（s） of life on other planets， they are resistant to considering this interstellar object as possible evidence of intelligent life elsewhere。 It is just that wall which Loeb appears to be trying to scale in this work， with both fellow scientists and laypeople。I recommend this to any reader with an interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial life。Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more
Krista
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