Prof Avi Loeb is the former chair of Harvard University’s Department of Astronomy and founder of the Galileo Project which seeks empirical evidence of “extraterrestrial technological signatures.” His interest in the discovery of alien techno-signatures began in 2017 with the arrival of the interstellar object Oumuamua whose orbital behavior around the Sun suggested it was an artificial object. Prof Loeb’s subsequent papers and book on Oumuamua, Extraterrestrials: The First Sign of Intelligence Life Beyond Earth (2020), has generated much mainstream interest in the possibility of extraterrestrial visitation.

In this Exopolitics Today interview with Dr. Michael Salla, Prof Loeb explains the genesis of his interest in extraterrestrial visitation and the role Professor Stephen Hawking played due to his 2010 views about advanced extraterrestrials likely being hostile. Prof Loeb explains why he arrived at his conclusion that advanced extraterrestrials would be beneficial rather than hostile.

In response to questions about the role of human judgment and observation in collecting data on the UFO phenomenon, as opposed to scientific data gathered through mechanical instruments, Prof Loeb took the uncompromising position that the former is not reliable or accurate and therefore has no role in the Galileo Project endeavors. In contrast, Dr. Salla pointed out the benefits of non-empirical data sources as a complement to scientific sources for a wide-ranging intelligence gathering approach to understanding the UFO phenomenon. Dr. Loeb finished his interview by briefly discussing the genesis of his view that some UFOs may be probes released by an alien mothership that recently entered our solar system.