INTERSTELLAR

What will be our interstellar future?

In 2021, astrophysicist Loeb, the chair of Harvard’s department of astronomy, recently shook up the astronomical world with his book Extraterrestrial, in which he argued that some kind of artifact from deep space recently passed through Earth’s solar system. In this follow-up, the author delves into our possible reactions when we encounter even more evidence of extraterrestrial civilization. Loeb believes that life exists elsewhere, looming beyond us like Oz, that it began long before Earth was born, and that other forms of life may be billions of years ahead of us—or extinct. He laments that we have not prioritized the search for extraterrestrial technology and unidentified anomalous phenomena. Here and elsewhere, politicians have failed to push for further research, as have many scientists, Loeb notes with chagrin. “The fastest way to ascend the ladder of civilizations is to reach in hopeful expectation of another civilization (even if only by way of a long-discarded artifact) extending us a hand up,” writes the author. He discusses in detail his ambitious Galileo Project, which seeks to identify UAP in space, perhaps on Earth and even under the ocean. Loeb consistently argues that “humanity, if it wants to persist, will need to leave this planet. The cosmic clock is ticking. In a few billion years, the Sun will begin to die and life as we know it on Earth will perish.” Throughout, he rambles widely across a variety of topics, including the idea of interstellar Xenia, or hospitality—we should welcome visitors even if they’re just hardware and AI. “To those concerned that AI’s arrival augurs humanity’s annihilation,” he writes, “I urge optimism.” As for dark matter, we still don’t know what it is. Loeb is an excellent motivational speaker for the importance of science, but this occasionally dry text lacks the exploratory drama of his previous book.

Studded with intriguing insights but mostly for fellow believers.