"I'm just saying we should consider the possibility that they are technological debris from other civilizations." Avi Loeb, Israeli professor of astrophysics at Harvard, he defined like this Oumuamua - from Hawaiian, it means 'explorer' - or the first interstellar object observed while crossing the System Solar, photographed by the experts of the University of Hawaii on October 19, 2017. For years at the helm of the astronomy department of Harvard, Loeb lit a unprecedented debate when he first exposed himself arguing how likely it is that man is not alone in the universe. Interviewed last January from Guardian, thus reiterated his position on extraterrestrials: "Oumuamua was not an asteroid or a comet or any other natural object: it was a huge pancake-shaped sail, less than a millimeter thick, pushed by solar radiation".
Extraterrestrials: the debate beyond conspiracy
In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, Loeb and colleague Shmuel Bialy have presented a theory as fascinating as it is debated within the scientific community. Oumuamua, this is the basic concept, he represented humanity's first contact with an artifact of extraterrestrial intelligence. All these notions and hypotheses have earned on the one hand the criticisms of experts in the sector; on the other hand, however, they opened the doors to Loeb for a trial of sci-fi disclosure on the subject of extraterrestrials.
Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth is the title of the last work of the Harvard professor - available, for now, only in English - in which he argued his theories. Interviewed in February on Scientific American, Avi Loeb expressed his position in this research path, thus responding to the criticisms of many colleagues. “There are, of course, science fiction stories about aliens, as well as many unsubstantiated UFO reports. Now, suppose there is a literature on the magical properties of COVID-19 that has no bearing on reality. Would this mean that scientists should never work to find a vaccine against this pandemic? No!".
Loeb and the challenge to the scientific community
Net of the opinions of each and the obvious hoax risks that lurk in debate on the presence or absence of extraterrestrials, Avi Loeb also launched a challenge to community scientific exposing themselves with their own ideas. His goal, it seems, would be to fight the conservatism which would be damaging the world of research, in which daring ideas and the will to question what has been thought or studied so far would struggle to emerge. «Science should be without prejudice, open to discussion. Not bullying ».
On the subject UFO and extraterrestrials, at the end of June the Pentagon published a report in which it confirms over 140 sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, without however giving further explanations. Some observers have pointed out the most significant fact in this story: it is remarkable news that the State Department of the most powerful country in the world has published an official document in which UFO is explicitly mentioned. Could it be a first step towards a new way of dealing with the issue?
