Our Cosmic Neighborhood Archives

Asteroid or Artifact? How a Tesla Roadster Caused a Cosmic Misidentification

Avi Loeb·January 28, 2025

Avi Loeb shares the story of how a Tesla Roadster had some astronomers convinced for a time that they had discovered a new asteroid.

Do Faster-than-Light Particles Exist? Tachyons, Black Holes, and the Limits of Faster-Than-Light Physics

Avi Loeb·January 12, 2025

Are there particles that can move faster than light? Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb explores this question and the mysterious role of hypothetical particles known as tachyons.

Where Should We Search for Extraterrestrial Life?

Avi Loeb·January 5, 2025

In the search for extraterrestrial life, our best success could come from searching nearer to home than many astronomers would have guessed.

NASA’s Dragonfly Mission Set to Reveal Clues to the Mysteries of Saturn’s Moon Titan

Avi Loeb·January 3, 2025

What will NASA's forthcoming Dragonfly mission reveal about the prebiotic chemistry of Saturn's moon Titan?

Is Humanity the Pinnacle? A Cosmic Perspective on Intelligence and Survival

Avi Loeb·December 26, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb explains why it's an understatement to think that humans could have behaved more intelligently throughout our history, and what that means for the future.

What Do New-Jersey ‘Mystery Drones’ Have in Common with Mysterious ‘Dark Comets’?

Avi Loeb·December 14, 2024

What do recent sightings of drones of unknown origin over New Jersey have in common with the study of dark comets? Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb explains.

Experimental Quantum Gravity: Bridging the Gap Between Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity

Avi Loeb·December 2, 2024

Avi Loeb explores how experimental quantum gravity approaches may one day help to connect the dots between quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Life in the ‘Big Crunch’: What If the Velocities of All Particles in the Universe Suddenly Reversed?

Avi Loeb·November 28, 2024

What would happen if the velocities of all particles in the Universe underwent what physicists call 'Big Crunch'? Avi Loeb explores in this Thanksgiving installment of 'Our Cosmic Neighborhood.'

Did Earth Once Have Saturn-Like Rings? Scientists Say Ring Theory Could Explain a Mysterious Ancient Event

Avi Loeb·November 20, 2024

New research reveals Earth likely had Saturn-like rings 466 million years ago. Now scientists say this could point to evidence of an ancient unexplained climate event.

Neutrinos Can’t Travel Faster Than Light. Here’s What That Means for Black Holes

Avi Loeb·November 18, 2024

Faster-than-light neutrinos would be able to escape from the spacetime prisons of black holes. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb explores the cosmic consequences.

Galileo Project Releases Commissioning Data on Half a Million Aerial Objects: Are Any of Them UAP?

Avi Loeb·November 12, 2024

The Galileo Project has released the commissioning data from its first Observatory at Harvard University in a new scientific paper.

New Research May Vindicate Einstein’s Theoretical Prediction of Massless Gravitons

Avi Loeb·November 4, 2024

New research sets the most stringent limit yet on the mass of the graviton, suggesting it may indeed be massless as predicted by Einstein's theory of gravity.

“The Wormhole Dilemma: Could Advanced Civilizations Use Time Travel to Rewrite History?

Avi Loeb·October 27, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb looks at whether wormhole technologies could allow time travel, and if so, what the implications might be for history.

Why Are These Ancient Black Holes More Massive Than Astronomers Expected?

Avi Loeb·October 23, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb explores the question of why some early black holes are overly-massive, defying astronomer's expectations.

Average screen time has risen significantly in the wake of COVID-19, but this could only be the beginning of technology dependence

Beyond Human Achievement: How AI Challenges the Nobel Prize Paradigm

Avi Loeb·October 11, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb looks at a potential future of the Nobel Prize in a world of machine-led discoveries.

Are We Living in a Simulation? If So, Its Creators Live in a Reality Bigger Than Their Imagination

Avi Loeb·September 16, 2024

If our world is a simulation, what is the reality in which it is embedded? Avi Loeb looks at the science behind the "simulation hypothesis."

Tiny Black Holes with Appetites Could Help Shed Light on Quantum-Gravitational Physics

Avi Loeb·August 30, 2024

The quantum dance of mini black holes offers potentials for understanding how accretion occurs at the subatomic level.

Is Dark Matter Made of Primordial Black Holes?

Avi Loeb·August 20, 2024

New research is placing dynamical constraints on primordial black holes (PBHs) as a potential dark matter candidate.

Interstellar Sun-Divers: Probing the Sun’s Corona for Exotic Artifacts

Avi Loeb·August 19, 2024

NASA's Parker Solar Probe and other space observatories could be used to study interstellar "Sun-divers." What else could they reveal?

Unraveling ‘Oumuamua’s Anomalous Acceleration: Could This Interstellar Object Have Been Manufactured?

Avi Loeb·August 16, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb revisits the argument for the interstellar object 'Oumuamua potentially being technologically manufactured.

Beyond the Horizon: How the Rubin Observatory Will Transform Our Understanding of the Cosmos

Avi Loeb·August 14, 2024

The Rubin Observatory will revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos by capturing unprecedented data on interstellar objects, potentially uncovering evidence of extraterrestrial technology.

Can Black Holes Be Made from Light? Scientists Say No, but Gravity Suggests Otherwise.

Avi Loeb·August 13, 2024

Can a black hole be made from light? A recent paper says no, but there was a crucial factor omitted from their calculations.

Source of the Moon’s Mysterious Atmosphere Revealed in New Analysis of Apollo-era Samples

Avi Loeb·August 12, 2024

What is the source of the lunar atmosphere? A new paper suggests the primary source of fresh atoms and molecules in the lunar atmosphere.

‘Oumuamua Was Younger Than We Thought, New Findings Suggest. Here’s Why That Matters.

Avi Loeb·August 1, 2024

Was the mysterious interstellar object 'Oumuamua younger than we thought? New findings suggest it was, raising new questions about its possible origins.

How Rare Are We? Hubris Inhibits the Hunt for Intelligent Life in the Cosmos

Avi Loeb·July 28, 2024

Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb argues how humanity's belief in its uniqueness hinders the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Could AI Avatars Become 21st-Century Tombstones?

Avi Loeb·July 9, 2024

Rather than staring at a tombstone in a graveyard, what if one could engage in fresh conversations with AI avatars?

New Gravitational Insights Unveil Mysterious Relationship Between Satellites and Earth’s Core Cycles

Avi Loeb·July 6, 2024

A study suggests that the Earth's core follows a 70-year cycle, which alludes to the "dance" between satellites and the Earth's core.

Will Contact With Non-Human Intelligence Involve Aliens or AI?

Avi Loeb·July 4, 2024

Distinctions between AI and human intelligence might offer a first taste of what we may one day encounter with the discovery of ET technology.

Webb Telescope Discovers Mysterious “Little Red Dots” at Cosmic Dawn

Avi Loeb·July 2, 2024

NASA's Webb Telescope is helping to reveal new insights into how mysterious galaxies known as "little red dots" formed at the cosmic dawn.

The Fate of Voyager: Where Will NASA’s Iconic Space Probe Be in a Billion Years?

Avi Loeb·June 4, 2024

Where in the universe will NASA's iconic Voyager 1 spacecraft be in one billion years? Here's what science has to say.

Will ET or AI Represent Our First Encounter with Superhuman Intelligence?

Avi Loeb·May 26, 2024

Astronomer Avi Loeb argues that humans need to make sure that we will not be on the “menu” of either ET or AI.

Do Dyson Spheres Exist? Here’s Another Way We Could Find Evidence of One.

Avi Loeb·May 22, 2024

If Dyson spheres were built around stars and eventually break over time, we might find pieces of broken ones in interstellar space.

Journey to Earth’s Nearest Black Hole

Avi Loeb·May 8, 2024

Recently, the Gaia collaboration discovered the most massive black hole that originated from the collapse of a star in the Milky Way galaxy. What would it be like to visit it?

Do Magnetic Monopoles Exist? CERN’s MoEDAL Detector Aims to Find Out.

Avi Loeb·April 30, 2024

The future detection of magnetic monopoles or dark matter will shed new light on physics beyond the Standard Model and could help develop new technologies.

Only a Matter of ‘Time’: On Einstein, Negative Mass, Time Travel and Aliens

Avi Loeb·April 29, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb discusses Einstein, negative mass, extraterrestrials, and the allure of time travel.

Complexity Nurtures Intelligence: A Complex Reality Shaped by Gravity, Life, and AI

Avi Loeb·April 26, 2024

Increasing complexity could provide insights into future technological advancements and the potential for encountering extraterrestrial intelligence.

Mapping Cosmic Hydrogen: From the Big Bang to Cosmic Reionization

Avi Loeb·April 22, 2024

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb discusses the reionization of the Universe following the Big Bang, and methods of mapping cosmic hydrogen.

When Did Life As We Know It Begin in the Universe?

Avi Loeb·April 15, 2024

Could life in our universe have its origins with the explosions of the first massive stars, and the enrichment of their environments with heavy elements?

Can Starship-like Chemical Rockets Escape Habitable Exoplanets?

Avi Loeb·April 6, 2024

Avi Loeb looks at SpaceX's ambitions, the exploration of habitable exoplanets like TRAPPIST-1d, and the broader implications for human space travel and settlement.

The Three-Body Problem: From Celestial Mechanics to Human Interactions

Avi Loeb·April 4, 2024

The restricted three-body problem involves a stable orbit of two large bodies accompanied by a small third body. Here's how it also relates to human interactions.

Tidal Disruption Events: When Suns Moving at Light Speed Around a Black Hole Collide

Avi Loeb·March 29, 2024

What are tidal disruption events? Try imagining the sun moving close to the speed of light and colliding with another sun as they move around a black hole.

The Moon Will Return to Earth to Die in 7.6-Billion Years. Here’s How It May Happen.

Avi Loeb·February 24, 2024

The Moon will eventually return to Earth, but humans won't be around long enough to see it.

Searching for Space Trash

Avi Loeb·February 12, 2024

Humanity’s search for interstellar objects, and what might amount to "space trash", could extend well beyond Earth and its atmosphere.

Coincidences of Our Sun and Moon: Are Earthlings Exceptionally Lucky?

Avi Loeb·January 21, 2024

Was the Moon-Sun tidal coincidence on Earth important for allowing complex and intelligent life?

Communication and the Cosmos: The Power of Language in Advancing Civilizations

Avi Loeb·January 14, 2024

Humans evolved from chimpanzees and reached the Moon by developing a language. But why is communication so advantageous for the evolution of a species?

The Cosmic Race Between Stars and Black Holes

Avi Loeb·January 8, 2024

Supermassive black holes and stars initially competed for gas in the early universe, influencing the likelihood of life and the cosmic balance of energy.