Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Harvard's Avi Loeb says James Webb found methane on an interstellar object exactly where it shouldn't be — and he's testing whether microbes could explain it.
In 2031, a Japanese spacecraft is set to land on a spinning object so reflective and sturdy it might actually be a lost Soviet probe.
Avi Loeb created the Loeb scale for ranking interstellar object anomalies.
We cover: why 3I/ATLAS's methane is harder to explain than the carbon dioxide found earlier, the microbe paper Avi is finishing this week, why he disagrees with a new "UFO" reanalysis of old Palomar sky survey plates, and why he just re-ranked Oumuamua now that we know more about "dark comets."
Timestamps
0:00 – The methane JWST shouldn't have found
0:27 – Could 3I/ATLAS be carrying microbes?
2:17 – The Palomar "UFO" reanalysis, debunked
5:25 – Re-ranking Oumuamua on the Loeb scale
5:35 – Why this "dark comet" might be Soviet
8:12 – Could aliens be watching, not interfering?
Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=OcYtO3OmyP4
———
📬 Get the transcript, fascinating bonus content, and my Monday M.A.G.I.C. Message: briankeating.com/yt
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📚 My books:
Losing the Nobel Prize (memoir): amzn.to/2sa5UpA
Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu
Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U
Galileo's Dialogue (first-ever audiobook): https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un
🌐 More:
🏄♂️ Twitter: twitter.com/BrianKeating
📚 Substack briankeating.substack.com/ss
✍️ Blog: briankeating.com/blog
🎙️ Audio-only: briankeating.com/podcast
#intotheimpossible #briankeating #science #physics #astronomy #cosmology #podcast #universe
Harvard's Avi Loeb says James Webb found methane on an interstellar object exactly where it shouldn't be — and he's testing whether microbes could explain it.
In 2031, a Japanese spacecraft is set to land on a spinning object so reflective and sturdy it might actually be a lost Soviet probe.
Avi Loeb created the Loeb scale for ranking interstellar object anomalies.
We cover: why 3I/ATLAS's methane is harder to explain than the carbon dioxide found earlier, the microbe paper Avi is finishing this week, why he disagrees with a new "UFO" reanalysis of old Palomar sky survey plates, and why he just re-ranked Oumuamua now that we know more about "dark comets."
Timestamps
0:00 – The methane JWST shouldn't have found
0:27 – Could 3I/ATLAS be carrying microbes?
2:17 – The Palomar "UFO" reanalysis, debunked
5:25 – Re-ranking Oumuamua on the Loeb scale
5:35 – Why this "dark comet" might be Soviet
8:12 – Could aliens be watching, not interfering?
Watch the full video here: youtube.com/watch?v=OcYtO3OmyP4
———
📬 Get the transcript, fascinating bonus content, and my Monday M.A.G.I.C. Message: briankeating.com/yt
🌠 Have a .edu email and live in the USA 🇺🇸? You automatically win a meteorite: BrianKeating.com/edu
🔔 Subscribe: youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1
🎯 Support Into the Impossible on Patreon — get my weekly M.A.G.I.C. Message, unfiltered bonus content, and live monthly Office Hours with me: patreon.com/drbriankeating
⭐ Join this channel for perks, monthly Office Hours, and your name in the Member Roster at the end of every episode:
youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join
📚 My books:
Losing the Nobel Prize (memoir): amzn.to/2sa5UpA
Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu
Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U
Galileo's Dialogue (first-ever audiobook): https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un
🌐 More:
🏄♂️ Twitter: twitter.com/BrianKeating
📚 Substack briankeating.substack.com/ss
✍️ Blog: briankeating.com/blog
🎙️ Audio-only: briankeating.com/podcast
#intotheimpossible #briankeating #science #physics #astronomy #cosmology #podcast #universe
