The Galileo Project: In Search for Technological Interstellar Objects (A Free, Virtual Lecture)

Registration for this free, virtual event is required: www.bit.ly/LoebTalk

Hamptons Observatory, is honored to present a very special, free, virtual lecture by the best-selling author and Director of Harvard’s Galileo Project, Dr. Avi Loeb, with an introduction by the highly acclaimed, award-winning science author, Dava Sobel. The books of both authors will be available for purchase online through our co-host’s website when you go there to register.

The search for extraterrestrial life is one of the most exciting frontiers in science. Among the first tentative clues were identified close to Earth in the form of the unusual InterStellar Objects (ISOs) and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) in the Earth's atmosphere. (While it was initially believed that ‘Oumuamua was the first ISO, in March this year, the United States Space Command confirmed that the interstellar meteor discovered in 2019 by Dr. Avi Loeb and his graduate student, Amir Siraj, was of interstellar origin; this meteor detection, dating back to 2014, predated `Oumuamua by more than three years and should be recognized as the first interstellar object ever discovered.)

The recently announced Galileo Project at Harvard University ushers the new frontier of "space archaeology" in search of extraterrestrial technological relics. The goal of The Galileo Project is to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs) from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends, to the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research. This multidisciplinary effort consists of a UAP branch, an ISO (InterStellar Objects) branch, and a SI (Social Implications) sub-division that examines the many ways in which hypothetical future discoveries of extraterrestrial intelligence could impact society beyond the sciences. The Galileo Project is complementary to traditional SETI, in that it searches for physical objects, and not electromagnetic signals, associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment. Visit: https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/galileo/home

Abraham (Avi) Loeb, the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University, is a best-selling author of eight books, most recently Extraterrestrial, and the textbook Life in the Cosmos. He has also authored nearly a thousand scientific papers (h-index of 118). He led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative and was a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Dr. Loeb is the head of The Galileo Project, and the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He was the longest serving Chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy and the Founding Director of Harvard’s Black Hole Initiative. He is a former member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Since 2016, he has Chaired the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative. In 2012, TIME magazine named Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space and, in 2020, Dr. Loeb was selected as one of the 14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade.

Dava Sobel, an East Hampton resident, is a high acclaimed, award-winning author of six books, including best-sellers The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of Harvard University Took the Measure of the Stars; Longitude (on which NOVA documentary and a four-hour mini-series were based); and The Planets. Dava was a 2000 Pulitzer finalist for her book, Galileo’s Daughter, which served as the basis for an Emmy Award winning PBS documentary. In 1992, Dava co-authored, Is Anyone Out There: The Scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, with Frank Drake, the founder of SETI. Dava is currently Poetry Editor of Scientific American and formerly a science reporter for The New York Times. Dava has been a member of Hampton Observatory’s Advisory Board since its inception.

Hamptons Observatory extends its appreciation to Dr. Loeb for generously taking the time to share his expertise, to Dava for her participation and continued support, and to BookHampton for its kind collaboration on this program.

Hamptons Observatory (HO), a 501(c)(3) NYS nonprofit that relies on public support, has served the community since 2005. Its mission: to foster interest in science, particularly astronomy, through educational programs. Lectures, star parties, portable planetarium shows and other events are held, often in collaboration with other organizations. HO has established the first astronomical observatory on the South Fork (in East Hampton), complete with Long Island's largest research-grade telescope; these facilities will soon be accessible over the internet to students, teachers, researchers and the general public. Hamptons Observatory offers all of its programs free-of-charge so that everyone can learn about and enjoy the universe around them. To join our email list for event notices, please email: [email protected]. To make a tax-deductible donation to support our mission, please go to www.HamptonsObservatory.org and click on Donate. Thanks!