In the last decade, scientists have discovered more than 3,650 confirmed exoplanets – that's more than one a day. The first exoplanets were discovered in the 1990s, and since then, methods of detection have only improved. Still, we haven't been able to find a planet quite like our own Earth that sits in the coveted 'goldilocks zone.' And we definitely haven't found one that hosts alien life.
Is it possible that we're the oddball? Is Earth truly a unique feature of the universe? Maybe. But it's more likely that we just haven't found our sister planet yet. Exoplanet hunting is difficult, and we are limited by our technology, our time, and other resources.
But we're also limited by our own biases.
In a paper titled "Expecting the Unexpected in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life," Dr. Peter Vickers, an associate professor at Durham University, explores the biases and assumptions that exist in exoplanet research.
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