"The first challenge in the hunt for life elsewhere in our universe is to decide where to look. In a new study, two scientists examine whether Sun-like stars or low-mass M dwarfs are the best bet for hosting exoplanets with detectable life."

• AAS Nova: http://aasnova.org/2018/04/25/where-should-we-look-for-life/
• Centauri Dreams: Paul Glister: Exoplanets: Optimizing the...

Avi Loeb's lated Scientific American blog post explores the idea that, "A civilization in the habitable zone of a dwarf star like Proxima Centauri might find it hard to get into interstellar space with conventional rockets."

Read More: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/escape-from-proxima-b/

Avi Loeb offers his perspective on opening up academia. "Academic freedom is a precious commodity, critical to ensure that discovery of the truth is not encumbered by political or ideological forces. But this does not mean that intellectuals should hide in academic bunkers that, by protecting us from criticism by “non-experts,” allow ego to flourish and enable a focus on questions that are not actually relevant to anyone else. We experts should have to explain ourselves."

Read More: ...

Dear Colleagues,

It is a sad day for the world of physics and humanity.

Stephen embodied the superiority of mind over matter. He demonstrated that the human spirit can overcome all physical limitations and that the human mind can comprehend the deepest secrets of nature. With his optimistic mindset, he discovered that even black hole can shine brightly. His work on black holes and the early universe had a great impact our current research in these fields. 

Stephen visited us for a few weeks in April 2016 for the inauguration of the Black...

Avi Loeb has written another great essay,  "Astronomers have recently determined that rare elements such as gold and uranium are produced as a result of rapid capture of free neutrons during the merger of two neutron stars. Neutron stars are the densest stars known, having the size of a city (12 kilometers) and up to twice the mass of the sun, with the density of an atomic nucleus. A teaspoon of neutron star material weighs a trillion kilograms, as much as a tall mountain on Earth."

...

"An experiment to estimate when stars began to form in the Universe suggests that gas temperatures just before stars appeared had fallen well below predicted limits, and that dark matter is not as shadowy as was thought."

"For the first time, scientists may have detected hints of the universe’s primordial sunrise, when the first twinkles of starlight appeared in the cosmos."  

"Stars began illuminating the heavens by about 180 million years after the...

"It is easy for professors to hide deep inside the trenches of their expertise—bunkers that protect them from criticism by “non-experts” and allow them to promote their egos without supervision. True, academic freedom is a precious commodity that should be held sacred in order to enable discovery of the truth in the face of sociological forces and ideological dogma."

Read More: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/renewing-the-contract-between-academia-and-society/

"About a hundred astronomers and visiting scholars gathered in the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’s Phillips Auditorium to hear about the latest advancements in astrophysics at a Thursday luncheon hosted by the Harvard-based Institute for Theory and Computation."

Harvard Crimson: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2018/2/2/astrophysics-luncheon-talk/

"Are we alone? This is surely a question each and every one of us has asked, at some point in our lives. And while most of us go no further than simply putting this question out there, there are people who feel compelled to devote time and effort in a bid to find the answer. Today our guest on Sputnik's Weekend Special is just such a man - Abraham Loeb, Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University and an adviser to the Breakthrough Listen project."

"It’s a long shot, but scientists are about to listen very closely for radio signals from our solar system’s first known interstellar visitor."
"Ever since its discovery in mid-October as it passed by Earth already outbound from our solar system, the mysterious object dubbed ‘Oumuamua (Hawaiian for “first messenger”) has left scientists utterly perplexed."

Press Coverage:

• Scientific American: ...

The Harvard Crimson recently profiled one of the Astronomy Department's undergraduates, Eden Girma. Eden is pursuing a joint concentration in Mathematics and Astrophysics and is currently working on her Senior Thesis with Department Chair Avi Loeb.

Crimson: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/11/30/fifteen-most-interesting-eden-girma/

"It’s impossible to miss when the seasons change. But do most people understand the science behind those changes? According to decades-old research by astronomers and educators at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), probably not."

... Read more about Harvard’s ThinkSpace brings hard science to Cambridge grade schools

"Somewhere in the neighborhood of the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri—4.25 light years from Cambridge—a small, hyper-reflective spacecraft will home in on an unfamiliar planet." Full article in the Harvard Crimson

... Read more about Interviews with Harvard Astronomers about the Joint Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Detection of a Binary Neutron Star

... Read more about NSF Press Conference on the Joint Gravitational Wave and Electromagnetic Detection of a Neutron Star Binary Merger

Marking the beginning of a new era in astrophysics, scientists have detected gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, or light, from the same event for the first time. This historic discovery reveals the merger of two neutron stars, the dense cores of dead stars, and resolves the debate about how the heaviest elements such as platinum and gold were created in the Universe.

... Read more about Astronomers See Light Show Associated With Gravitational Waves

"If governments and their space agencies are serious about protecting Earth from solar storms, one team of researchers argues a giant space shield is the most logical solution."

... Read more about Impact and Mitigation Strategy for Future Solar Flares