The Galileo Project aims to determine if extraterrestrials exist and if they sometimes visit us. To answer these questions, a team of American researchers will study, with the help of high-resolution telescopes and artificial intelligence, evidence of the possible existence of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs).
Are we the most intelligent beings in our universe? That's a question that a team of researchers in the US are seeking to answer with the new Galileo Project. Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, co-founded this ambitious project with Frank Laukien, CEO of Bruker Corp, a Massachusetts-based company that develops and manufactures scientific equipment. In the past two weeks, the project has received a total of $1.755 million in contributions from donors.
After having secured funding, the team plans to get to work. "We have team meetings on a weekly basis and we are currently selecting the instruments that we plan to buy," said Loeb at a press conference. "We hope to get some interesting results next year."
Technological clues
Currently, the project aims to set up dozens of telescope systems around the world. Each telescope system will consist of about two 10-inch telescopes with a special camera for finding objects of interest, connected to a computer system that will filter the data. The team is also working to develop software that will analyze data collected by the Vera Rubin Observatory, which is scheduled to start operating from 2023. Evidence of advanced civilizations could be found in clues hinting at the existence of past or current technology elsewhere in space, better known as technosignatures.
According to a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Earth is no stranger to extraterrestrial visitors. A number of unidentified aerial phenomena have been reported, through systems such as radar, infrared or electro-optical sensors. In October 2017, a pancake-shaped element originating outside our solar system was discovered and nicknamed Oumuamua. It did not resemble any comet or asteroid previously observed. The Galileo Project may be able to provide answers to such questions within a few years...
