There is a certain stigma attached to the subject of investigation of extraterrestrial life. Often ridiculed by the mainstream scientific community and media by pushing it out of the fringes of mainstream science and topics. The term Ufology, though not derogatory by origin has acquired certain negative connotations in the mainstream media. But when the head of the Centre for Astrophysics at the Harvard University, Dr Abraham (Avi) Loeb puts forward compelling arguments to pursue this subject, the whole scenario changes drastically. The scientific credentials of this person are enough to prove this person's solemn intentions to pursue this subject. For most of the scientific community, this may seem like a suicidal move for his career backed by their experience of ridicule received by many of their predecessors. But, Dr Loeb is a staunch believer in scientific curiosity. Fuelled by his contagious scientific vigour, he has embarked on a journey in a practically uncharted territory of investigation of extraterrestrial life.
As stated in his statement (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian) on 26th July 2021, Dr Loeb has launched a new project called "The Galileo Project" to identify the nature of UAP and ‘Oumuamua-like interstellar objects using the standard scientific method based on a transparent analysis of open scientific data to be collected using optimized instruments. This in itself is a groundbreaking initiative as till today the subject was always looked down on with condescension by the mainstream scientific community and was pursued by people from all walks of life without any structured methodology.
Of course, there is a respectable exception to that stereotype and that is the original SETI project (Wikipedia Contributors), (History of the SETI Institute | SETI Institute). It is tempting and also felicitous to compare the two. First thing first, the Galileo project is by no means a competitor to the SETI project. Au contraire, it is exploring another path towards the same goal or destination. Having said that the SETI project is focused on detecting signs of alien life through electromagnetic radiation whereas the Galileo project focuses on searching for technological signatures in the forms of satellites or other physical artefacts.
The goal of this project is precise and absolutely no-nonsense. In their own words, it is, "to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs) from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research". In my opinion, this is the first time a conscious effort is being made to look for physical signatures of extraterrestrial life (SETI looks for EM radiation and not physical artefacts) in a mainstream establishment. This makes the project a first of its kind event.
The inspiration behind this project was "Oumuamua" (In-Depth | Oumuamua – NASA Solar System Exploration), the famous interstellar object that was first observed in 2017. It warrants a separate article to see why this seemingly mundane event is truly unique in mankind's history. But to give a brief idea, it was the first object observed by human beings that entered our solar system from outside of it. On top of it, it possessed so strange properties that it created a storm of opinions and shattered all the things we knew so far about asteroids and interplanetary objects. From here, Dr Loeb decided to search and study more such objects in the hope of finding something incredible and entirely beyond the limits of human understanding.
Lastly, as stated by Dr Loeb in his interview (Rath and Baskin), he is not afraid of being proven wrong. Even if the outcome of this project proves that 'Oumuamua' or similar objects are a natural phenomenon and not a sign of extraterrestrial technological civilization, it will be a massive discovery to expand the horizons of human understanding about the cosmos. That's what makes this project so special. I for one am excited to see the progress of this project and learn more about its outcomes. I wish all the success to the project team.
References
Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “The Galileo Project: ‘Daring to Look through New Telescopes.’” Projects.iq.harvard.edu, 26 July 2021, projects.iq.harvard.edu/galileo.
“History of the SETI Institute | SETI Institute.” Seti.org, 2013, www.seti.org/history-seti-institute.
“In Depth | Oumuamua – NASA Solar System Exploration.” NASA Solar System Exploration, 27 Mar. 2019, solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/oumuamua/in-depth/.
Rath, Arun, and Matt Baskin. “UFO Hunting, with Harvard Data: Astrophysicist Advocates for Scientific Investigation.” GBH 89.7, GBH 98.7 / WGBH Radio, 3 Aug. 2021, www.wgbh.org/news/science-and-technology/2021/08/02/ufo-hunting-with-harvard-data-astrophysicist-advocates-for-scientific-investigation.
Wikipedia Contributors. “Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_for_extraterrestrial_intelligence.
Yang, Maya. “Galileo Project: Scientists to Search for Signs of Extraterrestrial Technology.” The Guardian, 27 July 2021, www.theguardian.com/science/2021/jul/27/galileo-project-search-signs-extraterrestrial-technology.
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