Harvard physicist Avi Loeb fends off attacks from critics after study reveals possible ‘interstellar’ life

Harvard physicist and professor, Dr. Avi Loeb, takes exception to critics about his theories of possible alien life in the universe, especially those he calls "theologians who argue that they don't need to look through Galileo's telescope because they know the answer."

"The root of the problem is having an opinion and a prejudice and behaving as if you are the adult in the room," Loeb told Fox News Digital when asked about critics of his theories.

That was just one of many rebukes that Loeb had for scientists who have bashed his recent study, which has quickly made headlines around the country. 

HARVARD PHYSICIST SEARCHING FOR UFO EVIDENCE SAYS HUMANITY WILL VIEW ALIEN INTELLIGENCE LIKE 'GOD'

Avi Loeb, Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University, speaks during the SALT conference in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 14, 2022. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado (REUTERS/David Dee Delgado)

Loeb’s claims are based on a recent trip that he took to the South Pacific Ocean, during which he gathered hundreds of metallic "spherules." Those spherules were made of beryllium, lanthanum, uranium and other rare elements that the professor said indicated their possibly interstellar origins. 

The object from which the spherules came were "moving very fast outside the solar system," Loeb said, "at 60 kilometers per second, faster than 95% of all stars in the vicinity of the sun. It also maintained its integrity down to the lower atmosphere, being able to sustain stress far more than encountered by all other space rocks that were catalogued by NASA over the past decade, 272 of them."

"So it was an outlier in material strength and also in speed," Loeb added. 

That space object, which Loeb calls the "first reported interstellar meteor," was possible evidence of alien life throughout the universe, he says, and the origin of his recent discovery of metallic "spherules." 

But Loeb, a highly credentialed physicist who received his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the age of 24, also has his share of naysayers within the scientific community. 

A lengthy New York Times magazine profile recently called Loeb the "world’s leading alien hunter" and the "most famous" astronomer in the nation, as well as "possibly the most controversial."

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But Loeb, a highly credentialed physicist who received his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the age of 24, also has his fair share of naysayers within the scientific community.  (Courtesy // Prof. Avi Loeb)

"Controversial" is certainly one word to describe Loeb’s mixed response from fellow physicists and scientists, some of whom have criticized Loeb for being unscientific, with others resorting to flat-out insults. 

"So many of my colleagues would just prefer to ignore him until he makes an a-- of himself and goes away," the Arizona State University astrophysicist Steve Desch told New York Times writer Seth Fletcher. "But he has a high threshold for shame."

Loeb said that the treatment of his research endeavors by the U.S. government, in contrast, has been consistently "supportive."

"The US Space Command issued a letter to NASA a year ago supporting the identification of an interstellar origin for this meteor at a 99.999% confidence," Loeb said. 

But Loeb also acknowledged that the government may have more information on extraterrestrial life than it allows the public to see. Whistleblowers, like former USAF intelligence officer David Grusch and former Navy pilot Ryan Graves, have testified to experience with UFOs, also called unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAPs). Grusch and Graves have both called on Congress and the executive branch to reveal whatever information it may possess about UFOs to the public, within the bounds of national security. 

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Whistleblowers, like former USAF intelligence officer David Grusch and former Navy pilot Ryan Graves, have testified to experience with UFOs, also called unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAPs). (Fox News)

Loeb said he wouldn’t wait for the government to reveal its knowledge on its own time. "It might be easier to learn what lies outside the solar system by going to the Pacific Ocean than waiting for politicians in Washington, D.C., to tell us," he said. But he still called on the U.S. government to release what information it does have. 

"I very much hope that if there is any information that the government is in possession of, it will be released to scientists like myself so that we can make sense of it and the public should know about it," Loeb said. 

Loeb has written a book about the search for evidence of alien life in the universe, called "Interstellar: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life and Our Future in the Stars."

"It's not a question of protecting the public from knowing about something, because just think about four centuries ago," the professor said, recalling the story of Galileo Galilei, an astronomer and physicist who was put under house arrest for his support of a heliocentric model of the universe. 

The Italian astronomer is also the namesake for Loeb’s "Galileo Project," an organization he heads that is in search of direct, photo evidence of UAPs. If Loeb is successful, the proof of alien life, astrophysicist Karl Gebhardt told The New York Times, "will change everything." 

One scientist who would not be as surprised to find direct, photo evidence of an extraterrestrial species is Loeb himself.

"My colleagues prefer… not to seek any data that violates the assertion that we are special and unique and there is nobody like us anywhere," Loeb said. "And I say, let us consider that this is a possibility and check our backyard for any objects that may have arrived from far away and have a coastal stem from another civilization that might be far more advanced than we are, because they arrived at our doorstep before we arrived at their doorstep."

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Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History. 

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