After arrival Adirondack Park In our first family holiday since the pandemic began, I went out for a routine morning jog. The sun shines on me, like a racehorse that needs to be washed. There, I unexpectedly saw a beautiful young deer by the lake. He focused his gaze on me to confirm that I was not in danger. If I picked up my phone to take a photo, he would have disappeared a long time ago. I choose to appreciate the scenery and savor this moment carefully, as if the deer is a fleeting movement. In this case, the rare beauty cannot be recorded, otherwise it will disappear. This prevented me from sharing my rare experience with my family.
Past generations may have witnessed phenomena that have never been recorded in a scientific way. Is it possible that we have missed important scientific clues from the past? Science relies on the repeatability of results, but we may have to wait a long time to repeat rare events.
Let us consider a specific example.Suppose the solar system was visited by the technological equipment of an alien civilization millions of years ago-this is almost impossible, because the age of the Milky Way galaxy is one million times older than ours Recorded history. If we find an album of high-resolution photos at the time, we will have an affirmative answer Enrico Fermi Paradox: “Where did everyone go?” But the lack of evidence does not mean that the answer is negative. If a tree falls in the forest and no one around hears it, Does it make a sound?
One remedy is to look for surprising events in the long history of the earth. For example, two billion years after the formation of the earth, Oxygen level Rise in the atmosphere unknown reason, Making it possible for the complex life that currently thrives on the earth. What is even more surprising is that in the last thousandth of the earth’s history, intelligent life suddenly appeared. Both events may have natural origins, but other explanations are also possible.
A better way is to look for technological relics from distant civilizations in the sky.Newly announced Galileo Project Designed to image objects with unknown properties near the earth, such as UFO (UAP) or anomalous interstellar objects, such as ‘Omomo. There is no point in not doing this. Choosing not to look through the window does not mean that your neighbor is not there.
A common mistake is to assume that our environment is designed for us. On the contrary, we may just be audiences of plays designed for other actors, just like I was in the natural environment of the Adirondack deer.Any technological equipment discovered by the Galileo project may be millions of years ago, long ago Humanity exist. These probes could have been sent to Earth as a livable destination based on their own merits.
this Galileo Project Objects that are most important to national security, such as man-made drones or airplanes, will be ignored.Instead, it will focus on the “other” category UAP report The document was submitted to Congress on June 25, 2021.
To prove that my participation in the Galileo Project is part of my daily work at Harvard University, I explained that it will collect and interpret data from the telescope. Instead of focusing on distant objects as astronomers often do, our research team will track nearby objects that move quickly in the sky. An object is considered to have no minimum distance from astronomy, especially if it originated outside the solar system before reaching our vicinity.
In the days after the Galileo plan was announced, the thousands of support e-mails I received made it clear that the idea of imaging the unknown would inspire people. Bringing this research into the mainstream of astronomy will attract new funding and talent into the field of science. There is no harm in seeking evidence; this is a win-win proposal, and it will teach us something new.Even though’Oumuamua is a natural object, like a never seen Hydrogen iceberg, We will learn that there must be nurseries for interstellar objects very different from the solar system. In leading the Galileo project, I played a former farm boy who retained his childhood curiosity.I understand the resistance of those who disagree with my point of view but cherish their company Like-minded explorers with Donors.
The Galileo plan was a fishing expedition. We use hooks in the form of telescopes without assuming what they will catch. The fundamental innovation is that we choose to find the answer through the telescope.This is the biggest lesson we learned Galileo GalileiA debate with a philosopher who refused to observe through his telescope.
Recently, a philosopher publish an article It uses philosophical reasoning to argue that “Oumuamua cannot originate from technology.” This shows that finding answers through a telescope is not as trivial as Galileo’s four centuries later.
This is an opinion and analysis article; opinions expressed Author or author Not necessarily those Scientific american.