Guest: Dr. Avi Loeb: Topics: Dr. Loeb's new book, "Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars," the need to search for hard evidence, preliminary analysis of his findings from picking up more than 700 spherical metal fragments from the Pacific Ocean in June suggesting an interstellar origin.
Please direct all comments and questions regarding specific Space Show programs & guest(s) to the Space Show blog which is part of archived program on our website, www.thespaceshow.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm.
We welcomed Professor Loeb back to the program to first discuss his new book, "Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars" followed a report on the preliminary analysis of the spherical metal objects he retrieved from the Pacific Ocean from the 2014 fast moving object that crashed on Earth. Our guest did not spend that much time on his book though he did go over the need to find additional fast-moving interstellar objects in our solar system as we need many more samples for studies. He suggested we were in a much better position to do this today due to the JWST plus the Vera Rubin survey telescope in Chile which comes online next year. Our guest talked about the speeds that suggest the object is interstellar in origin plus the materials composition of any debris found from such articles that hit Earth as a fast-moving meteorite.
Our guest had much to say during our interview about the need to actually search for evidence by using academic statistics and waiting for an object to see and maybe photograph. He spent a significant amount of time on the subject of physically searching for objects, how to do it and why he does it. He talked extensively about exploring for research and being active in the search for facts and data. As he said, that was the basis of his funding an expedition to the Pacific Ocean to see if some of the debris from a 2014 fast moving meteorite could be retrieved for analysis. Avi then spent time talking about the details of the expedition, the satellite tracking of the incoming object by the government and how he got that track in order to search an area for crash debris which he claims he found.
As for knowing if an object was interstellar in its origin or not, he talked about the speeds it would show in either flying by Earth such as Oumuamua a few years ago or the incoming speed of an object that eventually broke up in our atmosphere. Specifically, he said they recovered 700 metal spheres using a magnetic type of sled to scrape across the ocean floor. Dr. Loeb then shared the preliminary analysis of the spheres saying they were not the usual composition of materials found on Earth or in our solar system. He specifically mentioned the composition of Beryllium, Lanthanum, and Uranium along with aluminum, and titanium in the spheres. That said, he said much more information and research was needed to confirm both interstellar origins and if the object might have been natural or technologically created.
Additional topics were mentioned including UAPs as alien technology. He said the idea was intriguing but not conclusive. During the program, I asked Avi about the scientists that disagreed with him. He spent several minutes talking about that issue, including mentioned multiple alternative theories that did not hold up, thus he had an answer for all of the criticism. What do you think of his response regarding criticism of his work? Post your thoughts about this on our blog.
Please post your comments/questions for Dr. Avi Loeb on our blog for this program. You can reach Professor Loeb through his Harvard faculty page or through The Space Show.
The Space Show
