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Extraterrestrial

The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth

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Extraterrestrial

By: Avi Loeb
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
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About this listen

The world's most eminent scientist of space explains why he believes in extraterrestrial life.

Harvard's top astronomer lays out his controversial theory that our solar system was recently visited by advanced alien technology.

In late 2017, scientists at a Hawaiian observatory glimpsed a strange object soaring through our inner solar system. Astrophysicist Avi Loeb conclusively showed it was not an asteroid; it was moving too fast along a strange orbit and leaving 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 civilisation.

In Extraterrestrial, Loeb takes listeners inside the thrilling story of the first interstellar visitor to be spotted in our solar system. He outlines his theory and its profound implications: for science, for religion and for the future of our planet. A mind-bending journey through the furthest reaches of science, space-time and the human imagination, Extraterrestrial challenges listeners to aim for the stars - and to think critically about what's out there, no matter how strange it seems.

©2021 Avi Loeb (P)2021 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Science Solar System Technology Interstellar

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Critic reviews

"Visionary." (Stephen Greenblatt)

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This was a superb account of an event from a purely scientific point of view based on the data. no conjecture pure facts. I really enjoyed that Avi interwove stories of his life in between the more science based parts, it kept it engaging and gave it a human touch.

Inspirational stuff. A beacon of hope.

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Great story and well thought out. First heard Avi on Lex Friedman podcast and loved it

fascinating

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Very interesting open minded. This guy is addictive to listen to if you have a thirst for knowledge

Compelling

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I bought this book on account of hearing Loeb being interviewed and having been fascinated by ‘Oumuamua in 2017 (if you’ve read Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke then ‘Oumuamua will not have passed you by unnoticed!).

I’m not a scientist but the fundamental questions in this book fascinate me and I appreciated hearing more about ‘Oumuamua alongside Loeb’s personal and professional views on the bigger picture (one might even describe it as Life, the Universe, and Everything...views of a Harvard Professor).

I recently read ‘The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity’ by Toby Ord and these two books complement each other really well, they share common ground.

This book has been published in 2021 and I hadn’t appreciated that the search for extraterrestrial life is still regarded as a less credible career path for young academics, and that it still does not compete well for resources versus other areas of scientific discovery. I hope this book goes some way to changing that.

Brilliant read, thought-provoking, hope it inspires (and helps!) future generations of scientists

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Brilliant. The book is essentially a call to reflection.

Avi is an extraordinary ahead-of-his-time thinker/seeker who is humble, compassionate and insightful. The narrator was great. The autobiographies were very interesting and parable. His army experiences are unfortunately too relatable to me.

Must read book on astronomy and the meaning of life.

Engages the reader on a personal level, allowing them to reflect on their own biases. Gives many believable facts to back up his extraordinary claims.

Brilliant

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