"About a quarter of our galaxy's two hundred billion stars are orbited by planets that are habitable in the way Earth is. Given so many worlds — fifty billion in our own galaxy! — with similar life-friendly conditions, it's very likely that intelligent organisms have evolved elsewhere," writes the astrophysicist Dr. Avi Loeb in his book "Extraterrestrial."
Dr. Loeb, a professor at Harvard University, is the best-selling author of eight books and the director of Harvard's Galileo Project, which systematically searches the skies for technological interstellar objects — basically, alien technology. On Tuesday evening for the Hamptons Observatory, from 7 to 8:30, Dr. Loeb will present a free virtual lecture on "The Galileo Project: In Search for Technological Interstellar Objects."
He will discuss the search for extraterrestrial life in general, citing evidence that supports the hypothesis that certain interstellar objects (such as Oumuamua, which passed through our solar system in 2017) may be technology from another civilization. Oumuamua was about 100 meters long, cigar-shaped, and reflective, all qualities that Dr. Loeb notes are not seen in natural objects.
Dava Sobel of Springs, a member of the Hampton Observatory's advisory board who is herself the author of several books, will introduce Dr. Loeb.
The mission of the Hamptons Observatory, an independent nonprofit located on the campus of the Ross School, is to foster an interest in science, particularly astronomy. Established in 2005, it is the first astronomical observatory on the South Fork, complete with Long Island's largest research-grade telescope.
Registration for this free virtual event, which is also sponsored by BookHampton, is at www.bit.ly/LoebTalk.
