Extraterrestrial Life: Are We the Sharpest Cookies in the Jar?

<!--HTML--><div> <div> <div> <p><span>The search for extraterrestrial life is one of the most exciting frontiers in Astronomy. First tentative clues were identified&nbsp; close to Earth in the form of the weird interstellar object `Oumuamua. Our civilization will mature once we find out who resides on our cosmic street by searching with our&nbsp;best&nbsp;telescopes for</span><span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttp-3A__iopscience.iop.org_article_10.1088_2041-2D8205_811_2_L20_pdf%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DeuGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM%26r%3DzNsfNhEFLzLXS0DuD49A9nDeSBljjfthw9lp47yKyUs%26m%3D8hJbZmFsZIrQ4nRxD7J-rVJDNj6iLbPv3aiDTdhhjLA%26s%3Dkzc8XNqd8iP538FpOLTr2Jllp_97crSiFTogQbgY-j4%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmzh616%40psu.edu%7C20dc9f094f2a4a7c1a7a08d8ac58e693%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637448845118869502%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=mGneZBhSqIKtg%2F3%2F51%2FR8VG78n6nfVNjrwXLOA%2FAvp8%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><span>unusual electromagnetic flashes</span></a><span>,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttp-3A__iopscience.iop.org_article_10.1088_2041-2D8205_792_1_L7_pdf%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DeuGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM%26r%3DzNsfNhEFLzLXS0DuD49A9nDeSBljjfthw9lp47yKyUs%26m%3D8hJbZmFsZIrQ4nRxD7J-rVJDNj6iLbPv3aiDTdhhjLA%26s%3DV27IQyGl83D_7npNR8Dsxxp5BhGFvXUotPE5ipBXjv0%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmzh616%40psu.edu%7C20dc9f094f2a4a7c1a7a08d8ac58e693%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637448845118879496%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=kx773N9XFtqkZxsYYWKjJgQ1mczDyFga7jjI8fkA4ps%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><span>industrial pollution of planetary atmospheres</span></a><span>,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__www.liebertpub.com_doi_10.1089_ast.2011.0758%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DeuGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM%26r%3DzNsfNhEFLzLXS0DuD49A9nDeSBljjfthw9lp47yKyUs%26m%3D8hJbZmFsZIrQ4nRxD7J-rVJDNj6iLbPv3aiDTdhhjLA%26s%3DSP0AL3TUyGm1upa-s11cVVYGvukLhSWwG82Kq28Us6U%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmzh616%40psu.edu%7C20dc9f094f2a4a7c1a7a08d8ac58e693%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637448845118879496%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=KMFX2XDOHbvvBuDrcCf2T6%2BIk2s7mk%2BLA57zNKVQIpY%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><span>artificial light</span></a><span>&nbsp;</span><span>or</span><span>&nbsp;</span><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__academic.oup.com_mnrasl_article-2Dabstract_doi_10.1093_mnrasl_slx084_3858042-3FredirectedFrom-3Dfulltext%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DeuGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM%26r%3DzNsfNhEFLzLXS0DuD49A9nDeSBljjfthw9lp47yKyUs%26m%3D8hJbZmFsZIrQ4nRxD7J-rVJDNj6iLbPv3aiDTdhhjLA%26s%3DMm0fCPkhTS0mXJztagRu1Bcoi6JfKtSzwbHTaYFH8AE%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmzh616%40psu.edu%7C20dc9f094f2a4a7c1a7a08d8ac58e693%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637448845118889490%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=bUR6h9O1IcBpPwKh6tbZ9mDO6XwHxQnSiC7t2QKlT%2Bg%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><span>heat</span></a><span>,&nbsp;</span><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__blogs.scientificamerican.com_observations_how-2Dto-2Dsearch-2Dfor-2Ddead-2Dcosmic-2Dcivilizations_%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DeuGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM%26r%3DzNsfNhEFLzLXS0DuD49A9nDeSBljjfthw9lp47yKyUs%26m%3D8hJbZmFsZIrQ4nRxD7J-rVJDNj6iLbPv3aiDTdhhjLA%26s%3DaWw_030F-rm0bXPyrpdzMbzwl-0lyOPLs-gES9NyNLU%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmzh616%40psu.edu%7C20dc9f094f2a4a7c1a7a08d8ac58e693%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637448845118889490%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=bDE84V3fJbweQXcn674cnfqnW%2BXmfGcJ6ydkzKeVsUg%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank"><span>artificial space debris</span></a><span>&nbsp;</span>or something completely unexpected. We might be a form of life as primitive and common in the cosmos as ants are in a kitchen. If so, we can learn a lot from others out there through the new frontier of "space archaeology".</p> </div> <div> <p>The&nbsp;lecture&nbsp;will feature content from my book "<em>Extraterrestrial</em>", available at</p> </div> <div> <p><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__www.hmhbooks.com_shop_books_Extraterrestrial_9780358274551%26d%3DDwMFaQ%26c%3DeuGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM%26r%3DzNsfNhEFLzLXS0DuD49A9nDeSBljjfthw9lp47yKyUs%26m%3D8hJbZmFsZIrQ4nRxD7J-rVJDNj6iLbPv3aiDTdhhjLA%26s%3DIZMn-eVasbAjTFree_CA4apIZldAO6wOiKarELVyLJk%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7Cmzh616%40psu.edu%7C20dc9f094f2a4a7c1a7a08d8ac58e693%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637448845118899483%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=0p56lX0dqrm7nUyn2VVZE%2F3645gyQwrJSQlHVENg2%2Fw%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/Extraterrestrial/9780358274551</a></p> </div> </div> </div> CERN Colloquium by Prof. Avi Loeb, 15 April 2021: https://cern.zoom.us/j/61141169137?pwd=ZTJ5M3I1R285OWtyZ1NrVlZjNDFndz09