When I entered astrophysics thirty-five years ago, astronomers had widespread doubt that planets exist around other stars.
From a historical perspective, this is not surprising. We often prefer to believe that we are privileged and that what we find around us is unique and special. Throughout the history of astronomy, this pretense led to the geocentric notion that the Earth is at the center of the Universe and to the egocentric notion that the Universe was designed with humans in mind.
Today, this same make-believe leads to the prevailing notion that intelligence and consciousness are unique to humans and that the Universe at large is dead and silent. Gladly this prejudice is not universal. Members of the Galileo Project are willing to entertain the alternative and gather evidence that would test these notions empirically by studying interstellar objects.
To read more, click here.