There used to be an American congressman who voted against LGBT protections while in Congress. After finishing his term, he confessed to be gay. This may explain why some of the most vocal SETI advocates are speaking against the possibility that anomalous interstellar objects, like 1I/’Oumuamua or 3I/ATLAS, might be technological in origin. Deep down, they are fascinated by the hypothesis but they have a hard time being honest with themselves and admitting it.
What gives me strength to continue with my research on testing this hypothesis with data is that I am getting dozens of emails every day from fans who follow my work. One of them wrote today:
“Dear Professor Loeb,
[…] I am writing to you as a parent and as someone who admires your work. My 9-year-old son is your biggest fan. He has read every paper you have published in the past two years and watched all your interviews on YouTube. Your work is his greatest inspiration.
[…] He is an extraordinary child. […] He taught himself to program in Python, C, and Java from the age of six. He has been reading in English since he was four. Now he is writing papers about physics, inspired by you, and dreams of one day studying at Harvard, following your path.
[…] I am a software engineer, but my son’s knowledge in physics and programming has already surpassed my own. Most of the time, I do not fully understand the ideas he shares with me. He has never had a friend or mentor who understands or appreciates his interests. This makes it even harder for him to connect with others.
I know your time is valuable, but I am asking if you could help me guide my son. Is there any way he could connect with like-minded people, join relevant programs, or find a mentor to help him develop his talent and passion for physics? Even a short message from you would mean a lot to him.
I have attached his latest paper. […] Any advice, feedback, or guidance would be very much appreciated.
Thank you very much for your time and for being such an inspiration to me and my son.
With respect and gratitude, […]”
In reply, I wrote:
“Thank you so much for letting me know about your brilliant son. I hope he will become an astrophysicist later in life. For now, my recommendation is to expose him to science through a subscription to a science magazine or outlet that fits his interests and knowledge (such as Sky & Telescope, Space.com or Scientific American). If he is not already signed up, he is also most welcome to subscribe to my Medium.com essays at: https://avi-loeb.medium.com/
There are also special science education programs, […including…] summer internships at NASA centers and some universities funded by NSF.
Of course, once he can attend college, he should take courses following his interests. I very much hope that he will solve one of the big mysteries about the Universe, such as: `Are we alone?’ and `What is dark matter and dark energy?’
With warm regards,
Avi”
In another email today, a colleague noted:
“It amazes me how resilient you are, Avi. I believe it was acquired during your practice of sports…as well as by genetics :)”
to which I replied:
“It is just a selection effect. If I was not as resilient, you would have never heard of me. For every person like me there must be hundreds of young `Avi Loebs’ who were deterred from pursuing innovative research after experiencing the pushback I get.”
Here’s hoping that the young generation of today will promote an inspiring future for all of us, a future full of scientific insights — discovered at a faster pace than those of my generation. Science offers the privilege of staying open-minded and curious. Unfortunately, some scientists use science to promote their status, claim to know the answers in advance of conclusive evidence, and deny the need for being curious. One reason I seek a higher intelligence in outer space is because I have a hard time finding it among these colleagues. I can only hope that they too will finally exhibit a sense of humility once we will all encounter clear signs of alien technology in the Solar System. Will that happen before artificial intelligence (AI) will supersede our intelligence? The race is on and the winner will be announced in the coming years based on advances in AI as well as the nature of 3I/ATLAS and future interstellar objects to be found by the Rubin Observatory in Chile.
A natural comet to which interstellar objects should be compared is the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. Its glowing cometary tail was obvious at half the discovery distance of 3I/ATLAS. We will know if 3I/ATLAS is a comet of a similar nature once it gets closer to the Sun within the coming month or two. To those who are impatient, the Hubble Space Telescope might detect or constrain the extent of its cometary tail as early as tomorrow. Later on, observers will be able to search for non-gravitational acceleration beyond the value expected from the rocket effect of cometary evaporation.
All in all, 3I/ATLAS offers a wonderful opportunity to witness how exciting science is — largely as work in progress guided by evidence rather than opinions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Avi Loeb is the head of the Galileo Project, founding director of Harvard University’s — Black Hole Initiative, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University (2011–2020). He is a former member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and a former chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies. He is the bestselling author of “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth” and a co-author of the textbook “Life in the Cosmos”, both published in 2021. The paperback edition of his new book, titled “Interstellar”, was published in August 2024.