Stars, Planets and Intelligent Life

How are stars born and when do they die? Are there generations of planets? How is intelligent life formed, which laws govern it, and what eventually causes it to end at some point? Abraham “Avi” Loeb is used to looking at the bigger picture. For almost four decades, the astrophysicist and Harvard professor has been researching the secrets of our universe. In his recent hotly debated book Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, Loeb tries to prove that humanity may have discovered evidence for the first time a few years ago – without noticing it immediately – that Earth is not the only inhabited planet in space. In this discussion, he will explain why we will probably never encounter living aliens, and why we are much more likely to come across the remnants of long extinct civilizations.

Host: Vivian Perkovic