This time, on the occasion of the release of his book Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial life by BOOKSXPRESS USA on August 29, 2023, he declares that he has "proof of an interstellar origin for the samples studied and envisages that non-human technology could be at the origin of them".
The book gives details of his expedition, which succeeded in recovering fragments of an interstellar object named IM1 that fell into the Pacific. It highlights the enormous implications of such a discovery, namely the likely existence of interstellar neighbors capable of forging technologies and on the verge of being proven, i.e. recognized by the majority of the scientific community.
On the face of it, he's keeping a few cartridges in his gun by not yet publishing all the scientific details of his research, and he seems very confident in his conclusions. He sees this as a very important step for mankind, one that could reduce the violence of our conflicts and encourage us to become more united.
Sociological approach
Dr. Loeb deeply regrets that humanity is currently spending hundreds of billions of dollars on military equipment, while popular culture references such as John Lennon, who himself witnessed a UFO in front of his New York apartment, call for a commitment to peace for all peoples.
He hopes that such a message might one day also come from species far more intelligent than man, and strongly suggests that military spending should be halted in favor of, among other things, human exploration of our interstellar environment using automated probes.
He adds that many people in society do not seek consensus and acceptance of differences, but fall into the trap of ghettoizing their values and withdrawing into their own identities, which in turn leads to conflict, including in the strictly social sphere. Social media algorithms and the media are dangerously amplifying this ghettoization of cultures, while at the same time seeking to influence in a biased way, or even to profit greatly from it.
In this context, some peoples end up doubting their elites, while others submit to them. Avi Loeb argues that there should be no mistrust of the elites and decision-makers we vote for.
Scientific evidence from the composition of materials.
Dr. Loeb takes up Carl Sagan's argument that "extraordinary conclusions require extraordinary evidence", explaining that at present, extraordinary evidence can only be obtained with substantial funding. Research into dark matter, for example, already requires substantial investment, with no certainty of ever having conclusive proof of its existence. This is also the case for other major theories that have not yet been proven or disproved, such as MOND or string theory.
Proof that humanity is not the only intelligent species developing technologies would also, in his view, merit major research funding, and clearly generates enthusiasm on his part. He explains that there shouldn't be a double standard, and that millions of public funds have already been spent on the search for hypothetical dark matter, but very little has been invested in the very plausible and probable existence of other evolved life forms, even though such research is within our grasp. An additional argument: the vast majority of taxpayers don't care about the validity of this or that theory, whereas the question of the existence of other forms of life is increasingly present in people's minds. He concludes that this research should be our number one priority.
The ballistic data collected indicate that IM1, its object of study, was faster than 95% of moving celestial objects in the solar system, that the object's speed and trajectory suffered enormous abrasion as it entered our atmosphere, and that its late structural maintenance implies a hardness greater than that of the 272 other catalogued meteorites, a hardness greater even than that of iron. This could also be explained by its dense steel structure. Hence, the organization of a maritime expedition within a zone of less than 11 km around the impact point to recover fragments, also relying on data from a relatively nearby seismometer located 100 km away. By collecting the magnetic particles with a large magnet, they then deduced, after microscopic examination, that they could be melted meteor particles. This was confirmed by the high concentration of these metallic particles found only in the center of the calculated trajectory.
Avi Loeb would not reveal the exact composition at this stage in the interview before publication and verification by several universities and laboratories. He added that, in the case of an interstellar probe, we might also expect to find residues of control electronics. It would therefore be a first in the history of science for the interstellar origin of an object studied collegially to be clearly demonstrated. It should be noted that Dr. Garry Nolan had previously highlighted the different compositions of suspected UAP debris from those found on Earth.
The study by Stein Jacobson of Harvard University has since demonstrated that five of the spherules in the central collection zone were made up of a proportion of elements never before seen on Earth, and therefore very likely to have come from outside the solar system. The content of beryllium (Be), lanthanum (La), and uranium (U) in particular is a factor of 100 higher than in the solar system, and Dr. Jacobson has named this unique abundance "BeLaU". None of the spherules collected outside the IM1 dislocation zone had this constitution.
According to Avi Loeb, our skies should not be classified as defence secrets.
Following the sworn depositions to the US Congress of David Grusch, David Fravor and Ryan Graves, Avi Loeb deplores the fact that David Grusch is not a direct witness to the alleged exotic materials secretly recovered from PAN for decades by the USA, but seems confident of the developments this could prompt in the coming months, given that a select committee of nine will have full authority to claim these materials allegedly in the possession of certain as yet undisclosed actors.
He points to a flaw in the use of private companies, namely their pecuniary interest in profiting as long as possible from government subsidies, and insists that the data should be publicly available, as the stakes go far beyond defense and military secrecy. In other words, our skies must not be classified. He stresses that it's not impossible that the whole story has been fabricated or distorted, and that it's better to analyze material traces such as the spherules he has recovered than to wait for political decisions leading to greater transparency.
When asked about the government's obligation to keep certain information secret, Avi replies that this is a misguided approach. He believes that a gradual approach to the truth is preferable, as too abrupt a revelation could lead to stress and over-reaction among the population. He reminds us that scientific foresight means exploring the reality of our world unfiltered, without transforming it for ideological or psychological comfort reasons. He then evokes Moses' encounter with the "burning bush" as a founding moment of our religious beliefs, but points out that had scientific apparatus been available at the time, it would have been possible to analyze it without subjective interpretation. He believes that an encounter with an outside intelligence, whatever its nature, could make mankind better.
Avi has been the target of personal attacks, as his studies have challenged deeply held beliefs. He replies that he would have admitted the failure of his spherule study if the results had been negative, and that he has conducted a perfectly honest scientific study. He compares his work to that of a detective seeking only the truth, and sets himself the goal of excellence in his scientific analyses to silence his critics.
Furthermore, he recalls that on the subject of the OUMUAMUA object, he was able to demonstrate a major error by a factor of a million, in a term of an equation supposed to prove that no artificial acceleration had occurred on this object leaving the sun. An article to this effect was published by the New York Times magazine, which refused to correct it despite his intervention pointing out this error. In his view, this shows that his detractors are prepared to knowingly bias even the results of mathematical formulas, in order to harm him and out of a lack of open-mindedness.
As a result of the publication of this type of article, part of the public and the scientific community now seems to be more skeptical, even irritated, by Avi Loeb's research, despite the general enthusiasm for the subject. Under the guise of rejecting sensationalism, some scientific journals have even gone so far as to refuse to study his work, which is totally contrary to any scientific approach.
Avi Loeb also cites MOND, the theory of modified gravity, as another example where an overly conservative reaction interfered with his strictly scientific and objective study. He stresses once again that it is important that experimental verification takes precedence over any ideological orientation, otherwise this form of rogue science is likely to lead us back to medieval practices. He has aptly named his Galileo project after practices from another age....
