Our Cosmic Neighborhood Archives

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.'

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 14-17 (June 19-20, 2023)

Corroded Iron and Volcanic Debris in IM1’s Path

Avi Loeb·June 20, 2023

Corroded iron, volcanic debris, and evidence of magnetic particles turn up in IM1’s Path in this latest update from the Galileo Project's expedition.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage, Parts 11-13: June 18, 2023

Avi Loeb·June 19, 2023

More materials are recovered, and new questions surface, in this combined three-part entry covering Day 8 (June 18, 2023) of the Galileo Project team’s expedition.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage, Parts 9 & 10: June 17, 2023

You Can't Make a Lemonade Without Lemons

Avi Loeb·June 17, 2023

The Galileo Project continues its recovery of material from the ocean floor during its expedition to recover an interstellar object off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 7 & 8

Strange Wires and Diverse Fragments in the Pacific Ocean Site of the First Interstellar Meteor

Avi Loeb·June 16, 2023

Strange Wires and other fragments are found during the Galileo Project's expedition to recover an interstellar object from the ocean floor.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Parts 5 & 6

First Sample of Fragments from the Pacific Ocean Floor

Avi Loeb·June 16, 2023

This combined entry covers Days 5 and 6 of the Galileo Project's expedition to recover a interstellar object from the Pacific Ocean floor.

Diary of an Interstellar Journey: Part 4

Scooping the Ocean Floor

Avi Loeb·June 14, 2023

Scooping the Ocean Floor: The Galileo Project team's magnetic sled is lowered to bottom of the Pacific in the fourth installment of "Diary of an Interstellar Journey."

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Part 3

Arrival at Silver Star

Avi Loeb·June 14, 2023

Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb and the Galileo Project team begins its efforts to retrieve an interstellar object at the bottom of the Pacific in this third installment of "Diary of an Interstellar Journey."

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Part 2

Seeking Extraterrestrial Artifacts In The Pacific Ocean

Avi Loeb·June 13, 2023

This second installment in a series documents Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb and the Galileo Project's expedition to recover an interstellar object from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

Diary of an Interstellar Voyage: Part One

It’s Easier to Seek For Potential Facts About Extraterrestrials on the Ocean Floor than to Get Them from Government.

Avi Loeb·June 12, 2023

Harvard Astronomer Avi Loeb documents the Galileo Project's expedition to attempt the recovery of an interstellar object from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.