The Galileo Project is the brainchild of Harvard researchers.

A group of researchers led by Harvard professor Avi Loeb has launched the Galileo Project, a new venture that will use AI, telescopes, and astronomical surveys to hunt for evidence of “extraterrestrial technological civilizations” (ETCs). (TNW)

Oumuamua

The project has been inspired by Oumuamua, an interstellar object that passed through the Solar system in 2017 at a very high speed.

Says the Galileo website: “Oumuamua turned out to have highly anomalous properties that defy well-understood natural explanations. We can only speculate whether Oumuamua may be explained by never seen before natural explanations, or by stretching our imagination to Oumuamua perhaps being an extraterrestrial technological object, similar to a very thin light-sail or communication dish, which fits the astronomical data rather well.”

Avi Loeb generated a fair amount of controversy when he previously went public with a suggestion that Oumuamua was alien technology.

“The scientific community now needs the determination to systematically, scientifically, and transparently look for potential evidence of extraterrestrial technological equipment. The impact of any discovery of extraterrestrial technology on science and our entire world view would be enormous.” – Galileo website.

Private investors have already contributed $1.75 million to the project. It aims to identify the nature of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (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.

Galileo: Avenues of research

The Project will have a three-pronged objective.

• It will obtain high-resolution, multi-detector UAP images and discover their nature. This will be achieved using a network of mid-sized, high-resolution telescopes and detector arrays with suitable cameras and computer systems, distributed in select locations. It will use AI/ML to differentiate objects in the Earth’s atmospheric phenomena.
• The project will search for and conduct in-depth research on Oumuamua-like interstellar objects and use existing and future astronomical surveys.
• It will search for potential ETC satellites that may be exploring earth e.g., in polar orbits a few hundred km above Earth.

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Image Credit: NASA