Extraterrestrial

The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth

Avi Loeb

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780358645535
• eBook ISBN: 9780358274551
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

New York Times Bestseller | Wall Street Journal Bestseller | Publishers Weekly Bestseller | Publishers Marketplace 2020 Buzz Book  | Amazon Best Book of the Year | Longlisted for the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

“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 Maine

Harvard’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.

Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

abiogenesis, 134–35

actions and consequences, 9

adulthood, 5, 8

ALH84001 (meteorite), 169, 170, 171

alien spaceship, hypothetical trip on, xv

Alpha Centauri, 53, 55–56, 185

Andromeda galaxy, 110–11

anomalies of ‘Oumuamua, 27–45

ancientness and vastness of the universe and, 109–10

brightness/luminosity of, 28–29, 31–32, 38, 44, 61

deviation in trajectory, 33, 34, 35–45, 61

first interstellar object observed in our solar system, 27

lightsail hypothesis as explanation for, 63–71

LSR occupation of, 80–85, 86

natural origin explanation for, 74–78

size and shape, 28–31, 44–45, 61, 64–65

solar radiation pressure and, 42–43, 45, 64–66, 86–87, 164

antibiotic resistance, 124

anti-satellite missile technology, 121

anti-Semitism, 125

Apollo, 13, 57, 60–61

“Are We Alone in the Universe?” (Churchill), 128–29

Aristotle, 181–82

arrogance, 103–6, 152, 156–57, 158, 160

artificial light, 52, 142, 144

artificial meteors, 141

artificial molecules, 143

arXiv.org, 66

asteroids. See also meteorites and panspermia

interstellar, 75–76

‘Oumuamua compared to, 4–5, 30, 31, 35, 38, 61

Pan-STARRS detection of, 2, 7–8

simplest explanation for ‘Oumuamua and, 27, 62

astro-archaeology. See space archaeology

astro-linguistics, 162

astronomy, x, 21–22, 105, 111, 126, 131–32

Astrophysical Journal, 59, 187

Astrophysical Journal Letters, 66, 67

astrophysics, 20–21, 25–26, 94–95, 98–99, 101

Aztec Empire, 155

B

Bacillus subtilis, 170, 171

bacteria, 170–71

Bahcall, John, 19–21

Battle of Verdun, 124–25

beach trash, 73–74

Beit Hanan, Israel, 12–16, 19, 22, 23

BHI (B...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Introduction
• Scout
• The Farm
• Anomalies
• StarChips
• The Lightsail Hypothesis
• Seashells and Buoys
• Learning from Children
• Vastness
• Filters
• Astro-Archaeology
• ‘Oumuamua’s Wager
• Seeds
• Singularities
• Conclusion
• Afterword
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Additional Reading
• Index
• About the Author
• Connect on Social Media