Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth
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- Author：Avi Loeb
- ISBN：0358278147
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Summary
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“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。
“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。
Reviews
Ben Zimmerman
，
Extraterrestrial is an extremely unique book in that Avi Loeb， one of the great leaders of the scientific establishment in astronomy， makes a case for his dissenting opinion against the leading scientific hypotheses for the origin and nature of Oumuamua。 Instead， Loeb suggests that we should seriously consider that Oumuamua is an object created by an intelligent species。 Many astronomers are unwilling to put their bets on aliens to explain phenomena because 1。 The ramifications would be so extra Extraterrestrial is an extremely unique book in that Avi Loeb， one of the great leaders of the scientific establishment in astronomy， makes a case for his dissenting opinion against the leading scientific hypotheses for the origin and nature of Oumuamua。 Instead， Loeb suggests that we should seriously consider that Oumuamua is an object created by an intelligent species。 Many astronomers are unwilling to put their bets on aliens to explain phenomena because 1。 The ramifications would be so extraordinary， so the prevailing view is that we ought to be careful about such an extraordinary hypothesis， 2。 Because it can easily take the form of a “Deus ex machina” to explain away difficult natural phenomena that we could otherwise learn from， and 3。 So far we don’t have any other evidence of intelligent life， and therefore no framework to contextualize the phenomena。 Loeb counters these points with 1。 The ramifications would be extraordinary and mostly positive for the cohesion of humanity。 It is exactly because the ramifications are so extraordinary that we should especially consider the hypothesis， 2。 You shouldn’t discount aliens as an explanation when known intelligently-designed artifacts describe the data better than any known natural phenomenon， and 3。 We do have other evidence of intelligent life， right here on Earth！ I don’t know nearly enough about astronomy to make a good educated decision about whether I think the data favors Loeb’s hypothesis or most of the rest of the astronomy community。 I would love to read a book about the counter arguments to the intelligent alien artifact hypothesis。 Loeb presents the extrasolar object as likely an ancient artifact。 He suggests that the ramifications of observing such an object mostly have to do with how humans conceive of our own nature and our cohesiveness as a species。 Maybe I’m just in a pessimistic mood after reading， “The Three Body Problem，” but it seems like the possibility of Oumuamua being an intelligently created object also should increase our wariness of the threat of other intelligent species。 It is surprising to me， if the presentation of data is fair in this book， that more of the astronomy community is not even considering the hypothesis。 The mantra， “It’s not aliens，” seems dangerous because intelligent life may be common， but space is big。 That sort of definitive thinking seems to stand in the way of considering partial evidence， like Oumuamua。 Intelligent life is fundamentally different from something like breaking the laws of thermodynamics。 “It’s not magic，” may be a reasonable mantra of scientists， but “it’s not aliens，” is much more loaded with bias。While I see where Loeb is coming from in his criticism of the scientific community in not taking the alien origin hypothesis seriously， I felt like his overall portrayal of the scientific community was a little unfair。 Lots of astronomers have devoted their careers to seriously considering and looking for intelligent life in the galaxy; it’s not some kind of scientifically taboo topic。 I got the impression from the book that Avi Loeb sees himself as an extraordinary hero， standing alone in the face of tremendous antagonism from the scientific establishment。 This seemed so bizarre to me as a postdoc in another field of science。 Avi Loeb is the scientific establishment。 He is tremendously influential and will compound his extreme success even more with this book。To me， the inherent conflict with most astronomers is more one of resource allocation。 The way science works is that different people make different conclusions from the available data and then propose new experiments to acquire more evidence in favor of their respective hypotheses。 In astronomy， these experiments are very expensive， and the benefit is not always immediately obvious。 Loeb seems to find the lack of funding in SETI to be a travesty。 That’s fine and normal for a scientist。 We’re obsessed with our own interests， so of course it’s a travesty that there is less funding for them。 But his approach to advocacy for increasing that funding seems a bit alienating to me – like the reason for the funding discrepancy is because most scientists are too conservative and quiescent， not because they interpret data differently and think other things are more worthy of study。 。。。more
Claire
，
I didn't know the wondrous astronomy work from Carl Sagan's Cosmos had still been happening up to this very year！ （Or just recently。）I listened with a keen ear to all this astronomer had to say。 The only thing was that I wasn't sure how to spell Oumuamua。 I looked it up here after hearing about it。 I remember reading Rendezvous with Rama （mentioned in that link）！Oooh， I think I remember reading about Project Lyra a little while ago， but not TOO far back！ I think all signs are encouraging！ I didn't know the wondrous astronomy work from Carl Sagan's Cosmos had still been happening up to this very year！ （Or just recently。）I listened with a keen ear to all this astronomer had to say。 The only thing was that I wasn't sure how to spell Oumuamua。 I looked it up here after hearing about it。 I remember reading Rendezvous with Rama （mentioned in that link）！Oooh， I think I remember reading about Project Lyra a little while ago， but not TOO far back！ I think all signs are encouraging！ 。。。more
GavRix
，
very worth the read。 I would definitely read another one of his books。 If you have some great stories like this one， you can publish it on Novel Star， just submit your story to hardy@novelstar。top or joye@novelstar。top
Conan McCann
，
I only liked the book for the overview of what we know about 'Oumuamua， from it's brief appearance in 2017。 Otherwise it was a disappointment。 To much fluff and filler （yes it's cute the author as a kid herded baby chicks on the farm he grew up on， but that is not really relevant， and he goes on and on about how great it would be to know aliens are out there， which everyone agrees on， but proves nothing）。 Also， the author comes across as whiney and petulant because other astronomers won't agree I only liked the book for the overview of what we know about 'Oumuamua， from it's brief appearance in 2017。 Otherwise it was a disappointment。 To much fluff and filler （yes it's cute the author as a kid herded baby chicks on the farm he grew up on， but that is not really relevant， and he goes on and on about how great it would be to know aliens are out there， which everyone agrees on， but proves nothing）。 Also， the author comes across as whiney and petulant because other astronomers won't agree with him that 'Oumuamua is alien tech。 But why should they？ Dr。 Loeb seems to argue that since present day physicists can't explain to Dr。 Loeb's satisfaction 'Oumuamua's odd behavior （which isn't much， it's trajectory discrepancy is only 0。1%， or one part in a thousand）， then that is rock solid proof that it's aliens。 But that's bogus logic。 It could be something no one has figured out yet， an example of Donald Rumsfeld's "unknown unknowns。" There is plenty of physics to be discovered。 （Or it could be just a goof in the tracking calculations。） The author then suggests we believe 'Oumuamua is alien tech， regardless of the lack of direct evidence， just because it would be good for us。 He even gets melodramatic， and says if we don't believe that， then we're doomed， and we are all going to die！！ He also claims seeking extraterrestrial life is considered disreputable by the "establishment，" is ignored and ridiculed， but then how to explain billions of dollars spent to send the Perseverance rover to Mars， or the Europa Clipper to Europa？ He also writes in a way that would confuse the lay reader。 My biggest peeve is that he says 'Oumuamua "accelerated，" which regular people would think meant it sped up as it left our solar system， but actually it just slowed down a tiny bit less than it should have。 So the author seems heartfelt and sincere， but he needs his billionaire buddy Yuri Milner to buy Loeb a space probe to catch up to 'Oumuamua and get more data。 。。。more
Matthew LaPine
，
The high level premise of this book is the （controversial） position that an object which passed through our solar system in 2017 was a manufactured device， rather than something of natural origin。 But the bigger point it seems the author wants to make is that we are certainly not alone， that as sentient beings go， we are most likely no more than average （not even as good as the kids from Lake Woebegon！） and that accordingly， we could all do with a good dose of humility。Crisply and clearly writte The high level premise of this book is the （controversial） position that an object which passed through our solar system in 2017 was a manufactured device， rather than something of natural origin。 But the bigger point it seems the author wants to make is that we are certainly not alone， that as sentient beings go， we are most likely no more than average （not even as good as the kids from Lake Woebegon！） and that accordingly， we could all do with a good dose of humility。Crisply and clearly written， whether you agree with the author or not， his points are well made and thought-provoking， which this reviewer believes is mostly likely his intent- to get us to think！ Not very long and moves right along - well worth your time。 。。。more
Rose
，
I’ll be honest， I did not finish this book; in fact， I only got about 1/5 of the way before giving up。 I was just so bored with it。 A lot of it seemed to be bragging about his credentials rather than explaining this new object。 This book didn’t hold my attention， which is unfortunate because he seems like a cool （and obviously very intelligent） guy in the interviews I’ve seen of him。 I much prefer science writing that appeals to lay persons since， I will admit， I have a short attention span。
Mubarak
，
I did not enjoy reading this book as it became boring and as a habit I always like to finish what I started so I finished the book despite not enjoying it。 The whole book is about Oumuamua a name which was used for an object which astronomers saw in 2017 but the scientists did not give it much attention and consider it as natural object。 In the 200 pages book the author bring theories and evidences to argue that it was not natural。 Chapter 2 was all about the author childhood and village he grow I did not enjoy reading this book as it became boring and as a habit I always like to finish what I started so I finished the book despite not enjoying it。 The whole book is about Oumuamua a name which was used for an object which astronomers saw in 2017 but the scientists did not give it much attention and consider it as natural object。 In the 200 pages book the author bring theories and evidences to argue that it was not natural。 Chapter 2 was all about the author childhood and village he grow in which I did not know what was the relevance to the subject。 。。。more
Kayce B
，
I tried to get through it， I really did。 Just a little too redundant and a lot of side stories that weren’t really necessary。 I would have preferred a much shorter and more concise story。
Ian Hamilton
，
Loeb's Oumuamua hypothesis is seemingly well articulated and worthy of consideration。。。。for this non-scientific， lay reader。 I don't how much more there would have been to detail/supplement his theory， but his ET assertion only comprises a fraction of the book; the rest is masturbatory pontification。 Loeb's Oumuamua hypothesis is seemingly well articulated and worthy of consideration。。。。for this non-scientific， lay reader。 I don't how much more there would have been to detail/supplement his theory， but his ET assertion only comprises a fraction of the book; the rest is masturbatory pontification。 。。。more
Kevin Moore
，
Call me a cynic， but to me it seems like Professor Loeb is just doing this to draw attention to his light sail project。
Chris O'Kane
，
Science Wars Episode IV: A New Hope。Avi Leob brings a fresh and challenging approach to an old topic。 Asking us to consider rocking the paradigm boat by reverse logic of Occam's Razor。 Should science be more daring？ Should we accept Omaumau's wager？ Leob's book comes at an important time and is thought provoking in it's suggestions。 How are we to explore the enigmas of the Universe？ How do we ensure our continued survival？ I hope this book will be the start of a new Era in our search for Extrate Science Wars Episode IV: A New Hope。Avi Leob brings a fresh and challenging approach to an old topic。 Asking us to consider rocking the paradigm boat by reverse logic of Occam's Razor。 Should science be more daring？ Should we accept Omaumau's wager？ Leob's book comes at an important time and is thought provoking in it's suggestions。 How are we to explore the enigmas of the Universe？ How do we ensure our continued survival？ I hope this book will be the start of a new Era in our search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence。 。。。more
Matt Heavner
，
provocative and daring scientific analysis of 'Oumuamua。 A mix of memoir， science， humanity， and mystery - reall enjoyable reading。 Great book！ provocative and daring scientific analysis of 'Oumuamua。 A mix of memoir， science， humanity， and mystery - reall enjoyable reading。 Great book！ 。。。more
Janis Kvaternik
，
Professor Loeb asks the reader to ponder the most important questions possible - cosmic ideas of who we are as a species， and as simple as who are we as people。 Drawing on enormous boyhood curiosity inculcated from his experience on a farm， the author combines astrophysics and metaphysics together to advance the argument that we are not alone here on Earth。 I am not sure of whether ‘Oumuamua is truly a scout from another world， but I do know that this enjoyable book expanded my knowledge base an Professor Loeb asks the reader to ponder the most important questions possible - cosmic ideas of who we are as a species， and as simple as who are we as people。 Drawing on enormous boyhood curiosity inculcated from his experience on a farm， the author combines astrophysics and metaphysics together to advance the argument that we are not alone here on Earth。 I am not sure of whether ‘Oumuamua is truly a scout from another world， but I do know that this enjoyable book expanded my knowledge base and made me question some of my beliefs。 Thinking of Dr。 Stephen Hawking， perhaps we should hide from future interstellar probes！ 。。。more
Marty Nicholas
，
Not near enough on Oumuamua， way too much about Loeb。 I started this book with an interested and open mind on the topic。 I finished bored and disappointed。
Bryan
，
3。75
Corinne
，
I was skeptical after reading another review， however after reading myself I would recommend。 I would almost classify this book as a position paper。 A healthy amount of time is spent setting the groundwork for the author’s perspective: Passion for philosophy， belief in the scientific method， “for”advancing science and a relentless desire for the simplest answer to a problem。 If you want a sequential story of the Omuamua visitor that entered and then accelerated out of our solar system， this is n I was skeptical after reading another review， however after reading myself I would recommend。 I would almost classify this book as a position paper。 A healthy amount of time is spent setting the groundwork for the author’s perspective: Passion for philosophy， belief in the scientific method， “for”advancing science and a relentless desire for the simplest answer to a problem。 If you want a sequential story of the Omuamua visitor that entered and then accelerated out of our solar system， this is not it。 This book is grander than that， it inserts info about Omuamua and why it’s not a run of the mill comet within the bigger message which is that statistically we are not alone and we would be well served to devote resources on technology explore the universe more broadly now。 “And yet， it deviated。 “ might be the perfect description for how this book conveys its message。 。。。more
JAKE
，
So I guess this isn't really what I was expecting。 Honesty I thought it was going to focus more on Oh-mua-mua （yes I know that's not spelled correctly but I'm not going to look it up， you know what i mean） I get that we just don't have enough data to fill a whole book。The real point of this book was that there is a huge number of planets in the universe that meet the requirements for life。 It is statically likely that there have been， are or will be intelligent life on at least some of those pla So I guess this isn't really what I was expecting。 Honesty I thought it was going to focus more on Oh-mua-mua （yes I know that's not spelled correctly but I'm not going to look it up， you know what i mean） I get that we just don't have enough data to fill a whole book。The real point of this book was that there is a huge number of planets in the universe that meet the requirements for life。 It is statically likely that there have been， are or will be intelligent life on at least some of those planets。 I pretty much agree with this and it didn't provide me any more information that those two sentences。 Content good， I personally didn't enjoy the book。 What was the most interesting part of the book was the insight to academic life and how much effort is put into remaining main steam in the scientific community。 Which raises the question of the value of mainstream thought。 。。。more
Josh
，
Wow！ I am fascinated by space， and this author breaks it down to my level。 Some of the math is beyond me。 However， Mr。 Loeb has a deft hand while discussing complicated concepts of physics with lay folk like me。 This book is really worth the read。
PVG
，
The best book so far on extraterrestrial life， for which Loeb makes a plausible， sober， balanced， honest， inspiring case。
Tiffany
，
This was fascinating， absolutely fascinating。 A serious discussion regarding a possible visitation of 'something' from another universe from the scientific perspective。 So yeah this got a bit dry in some places but for the most part this discussion is smartly and thoroughly dissected。 We get some history， some theories and a whole lot of unanswerable questions about the age old question of are we alone in the universe。 In conclusion we are not （but that's just how I see it）。 This was fascinating， absolutely fascinating。 A serious discussion regarding a possible visitation of 'something' from another universe from the scientific perspective。 So yeah this got a bit dry in some places but for the most part this discussion is smartly and thoroughly dissected。 We get some history， some theories and a whole lot of unanswerable questions about the age old question of are we alone in the universe。 In conclusion we are not （but that's just how I see it）。 。。。more
Edward Wendt
，
A really thoughtful look into the Oumuamua visitor that the solar system had in 2017。 Instead of delving too heavily into the science the author often takes a philosophical approach to the subject。 This approach helps this become a very readable science book， compared to science books as a whole。
Victor Godinez
，
I’ve seen several professional reviewers comment that Loeb’s reflections on his life and career are more insightful and thought-provoking than the central thesis of the book itself。 But while those passages are genuinely moving and interesting - particularly the chain of events that allowed Loeb’s grandfather to slip the Nazi noose - I feel those reviewers are mostly just nervous to grapple with Loeb’s primary message: there’s a very good chance a spacecraft from an extinct alien civilization zi I’ve seen several professional reviewers comment that Loeb’s reflections on his life and career are more insightful and thought-provoking than the central thesis of the book itself。 But while those passages are genuinely moving and interesting - particularly the chain of events that allowed Loeb’s grandfather to slip the Nazi noose - I feel those reviewers are mostly just nervous to grapple with Loeb’s primary message: there’s a very good chance a spacecraft from an extinct alien civilization zipped through our solar system just a few years ago， and， if so， we need to think long and hard about what that means for human civilization。 Indeed， Loeb argues it’s likely the universe is littered with dead societies， species that petered out or were wiped out for a variety of reasons before achieving true interstellar resilience。 If we want to endure， we need to think and act with more humility， cooperation and foresight。 I’m not equipped to judge the validity of Loeb’s arguments about the behavior and nature of ‘Oamuamua， although his reasoning is clear enough for a layman to appreciate it。 I understand his view is still highly unpopular among the astronomical set。 But his wager - that we’d be much better served to assume the object was manufactured rather than natural - seems irrefutable。 And， in the end， there’s no dispute that ‘Oamuamua was *really* weird。Fantastic book。 。。。more
Lukas
，
Meh
Valentina Tkachenko
，
A wee bit repetitive， but ultimately inspiring。 Even if Loeb's hypothesis is incorrect， it's a succinct call for open-mindedness in science。 A wee bit repetitive， but ultimately inspiring。 Even if Loeb's hypothesis is incorrect， it's a succinct call for open-mindedness in science。 。。。more
Kéké
，
It all started when Pr。 Avi Loeb asked this question: "What if？"Then the journey begins。 What if 'Oumuamua was more than just an exotic piece of rock， hat if it was the first contact humankind had with another civilization？ This story is more about the self-reflection every scientists should have when facing something unexpected。 To remain humble towards the billions of possibilities and open to the unexpected。 This book is a must-read for every scientist to be and every science-fiction fan， for It all started when Pr。 Avi Loeb asked this question: "What if？"Then the journey begins。 What if 'Oumuamua was more than just an exotic piece of rock， hat if it was the first contact humankind had with another civilization？ This story is more about the self-reflection every scientists should have when facing something unexpected。 To remain humble towards the billions of possibilities and open to the unexpected。 This book is a must-read for every scientist to be and every science-fiction fan， for it describes what might have been to make space operas more science than fiction。 。。。more
Meghan Haines
，
I really wanted to like this。 Super compelling evidence for ʻOumuamua being extraterrestrial， and most of Loeb's points are good ones， but at times felt very preachy， even though I agreed with him。 I didn't hate it but found myself zoning out on his 5th or 6th rant about many scientists being close-minded and lacking in humility。 I really wanted to like this。 Super compelling evidence for ʻOumuamua being extraterrestrial， and most of Loeb's points are good ones， but at times felt very preachy， even though I agreed with him。 I didn't hate it but found myself zoning out on his 5th or 6th rant about many scientists being close-minded and lacking in humility。 。。。more
Katie
，
I wanted to really like this book， but alas， it was just okay。 It's like 30% discussion of the interstellar object in question and evidence why it might be the product of intelligent life， and 70% about other stuff that just kind of meanders around。 Some of that 70% is about extraterrestrial life， but a pretty big portion of the book is dedicated to complaining about how close-minded scientists are about aliens。 It's like， okay I get it and I agree with you， but what do you expect the reader （pr I wanted to really like this book， but alas， it was just okay。 It's like 30% discussion of the interstellar object in question and evidence why it might be the product of intelligent life， and 70% about other stuff that just kind of meanders around。 Some of that 70% is about extraterrestrial life， but a pretty big portion of the book is dedicated to complaining about how close-minded scientists are about aliens。 It's like， okay I get it and I agree with you， but what do you expect the reader （presumably a member of the general public and not an astrophysicist） to do about it？ Yeah， academia sucks， and your postdocs overwhelmingly care primarily about getting a permanent position。 Obviously！！ Anyway， the science was interesting， but overall， the book was poorly organized and unfocused。 。。。more
Grzegorz Chrupała
，
This is one of these books that should have been a magazine article。 The pretext is the author's theory that the 'Oumuamua object which passed near the Sun in 2017 is a piece of extraterrestrial technology， most likely a lightsail。 This basic premise is then mashed up with a lot of personal anecdotes from the author's life， a variety of forced analogies， as well as repeated tangentially related （though largely valid） complaints about intellectual conservatism and conformism in academia。 If you w This is one of these books that should have been a magazine article。 The pretext is the author's theory that the 'Oumuamua object which passed near the Sun in 2017 is a piece of extraterrestrial technology， most likely a lightsail。 This basic premise is then mashed up with a lot of personal anecdotes from the author's life， a variety of forced analogies， as well as repeated tangentially related （though largely valid） complaints about intellectual conservatism and conformism in academia。 If you want to learn the facts about 'Oumuamua， reading the Wikipedia article is probably enough; if you want something extraterrestrial-related to kill a few hours， then this book will do。 。。。more
Aryssa
，
3。9 stars。 Fascinating but my brain hurts
Galen Weitkamp
，