Our Cosmic Neighborhood

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.

Detecting the Undetectable: Could Future Technology Help Us Locate “Stealth Vehicles” Piloted by Aliens?

Avi Loeb·December 28, 2023

With future advances in gravitational-wave detectors, it might be possible to detect gravitationally stealth vehicles developed by aliens.

Intelligence: The Path Toward Exponential Growth

Avi Loeb·December 27, 2023

What is the mark of a genius? The ability to reach a solution through an unforeseen shortcut instead of a random walk or an elaborate effort.

All Habitable Worlds Come to an End

Avi Loeb·December 12, 2023

How many tragedies of alien civilizations on habitable worlds have we missed over the 13.8 billion years that elapsed since the Big Bang?

Are UAPs Relics from an Earlier Technological Civilization on Earth?

Avi Loeb·November 24, 2023

Is it possible that a devastating event was caused 252 million years ago by industrial pollution from an ancient technological civilization?

SpaceX Starship: A Musing on Rockets and Their Effect on the Earth

Avi Loeb·November 20, 2023

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb considers the effects of rockets on the Earth, following the latest test launch of the massive SpaceX Starship from Boca Chica, Texas.

The Invisible Sky Within Neutrinos

Avi Loeb·November 15, 2023

Neutrinos are electrically neutral particles that interact only through the weak interaction and gravity. If our eyes were sensitive to neutrinos, what would we see?

Did Microphones Recently Capture the ‘Mystery Sound’ of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena?

Avi Loeb·November 10, 2023

A mystery sound was recently recorded with instruments at the Galileo Project Observatory at Harvard University. What caused it?

Interstellar Meteors from the Disruption of Rocky Planets by Dwarf Stars

Avi Loeb·October 13, 2023

Astronomer Avi Loeb describes his "eureka moment" about the origin of IM1-like objects in interstellar space from planetary systems around dwarf stars.

Touching a Piece of the Sky: The OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Mission

Avi Loeb·September 25, 2023

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, launched in 2016 towards the near-Earth asteroid named Bennu, just completed its long journey home.

Reconstructing the First Interstellar Meteor

Avi Loeb·September 4, 2023

Now that the composition of the first suspected interstellar meteor IM1 has been measured, can aspects of it be recreated in the lab?

The Illusion of Superiority: A Salute to Nature

Avi Loeb·August 25, 2023

Our illusion of superiority relative to nature is unwarranted. In science, humility is a prerequisite for learning something new.

Will Disclosure Occur Before Scientists Obtain Evidence of UAP?

Recruiting Panelists from the Bar at Harvard Square as The Galileo Project Turns Two

Avi Loeb·August 7, 2023

Is it easier to learn what lies in interstellar space from scooping the bottom of the Pacific Ocean than from politicians in Washington DC?

“Are We Alone?” Finding the Answer is an Issue Senators and Scientists Agree On

Avi Loeb·July 18, 2023

We invest billions of dollars in the search for dark matter, but the public cares more about the question of “are we alone?”

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 31-33 (June 25-26 2023)

Avi Loeb·June 28, 2023

Might an iron peanut be worth ten thousand spherules, or nothing at all? Avi Loeb and the Galileo Project team's expedition to the Pacific waters off Papua New Guinea draws to a close.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 28-30 (June 25-26 2023)

Avi Loeb·June 27, 2023

As the Galileo Project team's expedition winds down, Avi Loeb provides a series of updates on the search for spherules believed to be associated with an interstellar meteor.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 25-27 (June 24-25 2023)

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Avi Loeb·June 25, 2023

Avi Loeb presents a new series of updates on the search for spherules believed to be associated with an interstellar meteor retrieved during the Galileo Project team's expedition.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 21-23 (June 22-23, 2023)

The Hunt for More IM1 Spherules

Avi Loeb·June 23, 2023

The Galileo Project team continues its search for evidence of an interstellar object in this installment of "Diary of an Interstellar Voyage."

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 18-20 (June 21, 2023)

The Discovery of Spherules from the Path of the First Recognized Interstellar Meteor, IM1

Avi Loeb·June 21, 2023

Magnetic spherules are detected under the microscope by Avi Loeb and the Galileo Project team in this latest installment of 'Diary of an Interstellar Voyage.'