Background and Objectives
The Galileo Project is an international research initiative launched in 2021 by Harvard University professor Avi Loeb. Its aim is to search for evidence of extraterrestrial technology and to investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) using rigorous scientific methods. The project was inspired by the UFO report released by U.S. intelligence agencies and subsequent statements by NASA leadership, both of which underlined the need for scientific analysis of unexplained observations.
The Galileo Project is a non‑profit effort funded by private donations, and more than 100 scientists from around the world have joined to date. The name honours Galileo Galilei and symbolises the intention to bring UFO studies into mainstream science with the same boldness Galileo showed when he first pointed a telescope at the sky.
The core objective is to collect high‑quality, open observational data on UAP and other phenomena of possible extraterrestrial origin. Earlier UFO research has been criticised for low‑quality or sparse data; the Galileo Project seeks to improve the situation by building new optical, infrared and other sensors that can deliver data of scientific calibre. The guiding philosophy is an open‑minded, agnostic approach: no explanatory hypothesis is ruled out in advance. All data are gathered and analysed objectively so that conclusions rest on evidence rather than pre‑conceptions. The project explicitly lists three research tracks:
- Systematic monitoring of Earth‑proximate unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP).
- Searching for interstellar objects similar to ’Oumuamua.
- Searching for possible non‑human AI satellites in Earth orbit.
Research Plan and Instrumentation
Observing the Sky 24/7 with Multimodal Sensors
The Galileo Project both leverages existing telescopes and develops new instrumentation to observe the sky around the clock across multiple wave‑bands. The first instrument package was installed on the roof of the Harvard College Observatory in 2022. That observing station includes a wide array of sensors: optical wide‑field cameras, infrared cameras, radio antennas, audio microphones and magnetometers. Infrared cameras detect the thermal emission of objects day and night, while radio receivers harvest ADS‑B transponder signals from aircraft to identify aerial traffic and estimate distances. Microphones can register acoustic events (such as potential sonic booms), and magnetometers log local electromagnetic disturbances. The approach is therefore multimodal: it combines optical, IR, radio, audio and other data streams to build the most comprehensive possible picture of unknown phenomena.
The “Dalek” All‑Sky Infrared System
Mounted on the Harvard roof is the “Dalek” infrared camera–antenna system. Dalek is a hemisphere composed of eight uncooled FLIR Boson 640 infrared cameras. The device can continuously monitor the entire sky in the long‑wave infrared band. During its first five‑month shakedown period, this all‑sky IR system reconstructed roughly 500,000 airborne tracks. AI and computer‑vision algorithms—such as YOLO object detection—filter out known targets (birds, drones, aircraft and weather effects) and flag statistical outliers whose motion differs from everyday traffic. About 16 % of recorded tracks (~80,000) were initially labelled anomalous, but manual review showed almost all of them to be mundane (for example, birds or insects). Only 144 cases ended up in the category “ambiguous anomaly”, meaning the object could not be identified yet also showed no clear evidence of extraterrestrial origin—most likely mundane items lacking sufficient range or altitude information.
A Growing Observation Network
The Galileo sensor network is designed for expansion. The goal is to build multiple identical stations worldwide so that the sky can be covered more broadly and from several angles at once. By the end of 2024, construction had begun on two additional observatories, which would triple data‑collection speed in the near future. Multiple units also enable stereoscopic observations: if the same patch of sky is watched from sites a few kilometres apart, triangulation yields the object’s distance and height. This is crucial for analysing fast targets, because with just one camera a small nearby insect and a large distant craft can appear as identical dots. The team recognised that the greatest limitation of the first data set was precisely the lack of range information—future multi‑station coverage will sharpen identification. Radar systems are also under consideration to help discriminate weather artefacts or false positives from solid objects. Satellite observations are planned as well: the project collaborates with Planet Labs to exploit high‑resolution satellite imagery of the atmosphere from above in the search for UAP clues.
Current Status and Recent Findings
The project has moved from its launch phase to operational status. The first station (Harvard) gathered a large volume of data during 2023–2024, and the team published the first results of the commissioning phase in November 2024. As noted, a handful of interesting cases were filtered out of the half‑million‑object data set recorded between January and May 2024, but no unequivocally unexplained or “alien‑craft” events were reported. Indeed, the tally of unusual tracks was relatively small: the team set an upper limit of about 18,000 anomalous tracks in five months (95 % confidence) over Cambridge, MA. All data remain under analysis, and several scientific papers—including an in‑depth study of the 144 ambiguous tracks—are in preparation for peer‑review. All Galileo papers are pledged to be open‑access so that the scientific community can scrutinise them freely.
Staffing has grown: new researchers and post‑docs joined between 2022 and 2025, and the Brinson Foundation awarded a three‑year fellowship. International collaboration is wide‑ranging, with expertise from atmospheric science, astronomy, physics and AI. U.S. defence and space agencies are following the work with interest; Bloomberg reported that even the Pentagon finds the project’s civilian academic approach to UFO research significant. Importantly, the Galileo Project is entirely civilian and transparent—unlike many past government UFO inquiries, which were often classified. The U.S. All‑domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), created in 2022, has stated it has found no evidence of alien technology in government hands, underscoring that no confirmed “alien materials” exist. Galileo therefore aims to add new, open data to the debate.
Interstellar Meteor Expedition
One branch of the project focuses on interstellar objects. A major headline came in July 2023 when Avi Loeb led an expedition to the Pacific Ocean seafloor in search of debris from an unusual meteor event in 2014 (known as CNEOS 2014‑01‑08). The team recovered tiny metallic spherules whose composition Loeb argues points to an interstellar origin—possibly the first recognised interstellar meteor. Loeb even speculated that if the body were technological, the spherules could be fragments of a space probe. The claims have met scepticism; The New York Times reported colleagues questioning Loeb’s interpretations. The samples are under laboratory analysis, and their origin remains to be confirmed. Although this discovery does not directly relate to atmospheric UAP, it fits the project’s broader search for extraterrestrial technosignatures.
Openness and Data Sharing
Open data and research transparency are core principles. From the outset, Galileo announced that all collected data would be made public for scientific scrutiny. Unlike government UAP programs, the project’s data are unclassified; analyses will appear in peer‑reviewed journals, and calibrated data sets will be released openly for re‑analysis. A frequently asked‑questions post states, “All data will be publicly available and analyses peer‑reviewed”—precisely as science should be. This deliberate openness seeks to shed the stigma of secrecy that often surrounds UFO research and to raise it to the same standards of reproducibility found elsewhere in science.
In practice, the team publishes results via open channels and offers data for independent re‑analysis. For example, the first instrumentation papers appeared in the Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation as open‑access. Raw data do not appear online in real time; the team calibrates and filters the data—removing identified birds and aircraft—before release. This is normal scientific procedure: data need calibration and interpretation before conclusions can be drawn. Methods are documented thoroughly so that independent groups can reproduce the analysis. Thus, while human experts naturally act as a filter, the process is transparent rather than secretive.
Public live feeds are not available on‑site because of equipment sensitivity and data‑control needs. Interested members of the public will instead be invited to participate in post‑hoc analysis via released data sets. Loeb has noted that within a few years the project’s data volume should exceed the total of all previous UAP reports, and that systematic, calibrated instrumentation is what can deliver decisive evidence—or debunk misinterpretations.
Have UFOs or Aliens Been Detected?
Short answer: Not yet. The Galileo Project has not reported any observation that conclusively demonstrates an object of extraterrestrial origin. No object in the half‑million‑track sample clearly exceeded known performance limits—none moved impossibly fast, executed physics‑defying turns or disappeared inexplicably. All observed tracks can be explained—or are most likely explainable—by mundane objects such as birds, balloons, drones, aircraft or atmospheric phenomena. The handful of unclassified cases lack sufficient data for firm identification but also show nothing physically impossible.
Nevertheless, the project is young, and decisive findings may require prolonged monitoring and a wider network. If the sensors capture something truly extraordinary, the team will conduct thorough analysis and publish it. Until then, the null result is scientifically valuable, establishing frequency limits on unexplained events.
A Pacific spherule find has been hyped by some outlets as possible alien technology, yet no concrete evidence of extraterrestrial manufacture has been shown. Loeb still hopes for a high‑resolution image of a genuinely unusual airborne object—”conceivably in a year or two” from the project’s start. As of mid‑2025, such an image has not materialised, highlighting the challenge and patience required in science.
Comparison with the USS Nimitz “Tic Tac” UFO Encounter
The famous USS Nimitz encounter of 2004 is an instructive comparison. That case occurred during a U.S. Navy exercise off California. Modern shipboard SPY‑1 radar detected dozens of anomalous high‑altitude objects performing extraordinary manoeuvres. Fighters were scrambled; pilots David Fravor and Alex Dietrich reported seeing a white, smooth, elongated craft—likened to a 40‑foot “Tic Tac”—moving rapidly above the water and reacting instantly to their approach. No wings, exhaust or conventional propulsion were visible. An F/A‑18’s FLIR camera captured short infrared video (“FLIR1”). The Navy confirmed the video’s authenticity and that the event remains unidentified.
Key contrasts:
- Nimitz relied on active radar and mobile fighters; Galileo currently uses passive, fixed sensors (radar is planned).
- The carrier group may have served as a “bait”—nuclear reactors or strategic weapons possibly attracting UAP. Galileo’s civilian rooftops lack such allure.
- Nimitz produced limited but intriguing multi‑sensor evidence; Galileo aims for rich multi‑channel data but has so far recorded no extreme anomalies.
Because Galileo’s cameras are stationary, a fast UAP would have to enter the field of view by chance. Without radar or range data, a hypersonic distant craft might appear as a brief streak, indistinguishable from a nearby insect. The team therefore plans multiple stations for triangulation and may add radar to close this gap.
Why Might Galileo Have No Detections So Far?
- Rarity: Genuine UAP events may be extremely rare; months of data from one site offer limited odds.
- Instrument Limits: A single passive camera without ranging cannot reliably separate fast distant objects from slow nearby ones.
- Avoidance Hypothesis: If UAP are intelligent, they may actively evade obvious sensors.
- No Strategic “Bait”: Unlike a nuclear‑powered carrier, Galileo observatories present no special stimulus.
- Nothing Extraordinary to Find: Many UAP reports may result from misidentifications; Galileo’s null result would then confirm mundane explanations.
Summary
The Galileo Project has introduced transparent, systematic science to UAP research. After its first operational year it has gathered the largest open sensor data set of its kind, published commissioning results and expanded its network. No extraterrestrial craft have been found, but the project has already placed quantitative limits on the frequency of unexplained aerial phenomena. With additional stations, potential radar integration and years of continuous observation, Galileo will either capture unimpeachable evidence or establish the strongest upper bounds yet on such phenomena—both outcomes a significant step for science.
Sources
- Avi Loeb et al., The Galileo Project, Harvard University (2021–2025). Project background and objectives; data openness and scientific methodology. en.wikipedia.org
- The Debrief – A. Loeb: “Galileo Project Releases Commissioning Data on Half a Million Aerial Objects: Are Any of Them UAP?” (12 Nov 2024). First results: 500,000 objects, outlier analysis, 144 unidentified; plans for more observatories and distance measurement. thedebrief.org
- Medium (Cogni Down Under, Jun 2025): “The Galileo Project: Bringing Scientific Rigor to the Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts.” Instrument overview and openness principles: “all data publicly available, analyses peer‑reviewed”; multimodal sensor suite; AI in identification. medium.com
- Interesting Engineering (Feb 2022): “We could see a ‘high resolution image’ of a UFO within two years” – Chris Young. Interview with Loeb: first telescope on Harvard roof (2022), sensors, 24/7 observation, 100+ researchers, vision of global network. interestingengineering.com
- Reuters (25 Jun 2021): “’Normalizing’ UFOs – retired U.S. Navy pilot recalls Tic Tac encounter” – Pavithra George. Nimitz encounter summary: radar detections led to fighter intercepts; pilots saw wingless craft. reuters.com
- ExoNews (via History.com, 23 Jun 2019): “Why Have There Been So Many UFO Sightings Near Nuclear Facilities?” – Adam Janos. Historical trend of UFOs near nuclear sites, including nuclear‑powered naval vessels. exonews.org
- WGBH News (PBS Boston, 27 Sep 2023): “Harvard astronomy professor Avi Loeb thinks he has new evidence of alien spacecraft.” Pacific meteorite expedition and colleagues’ scepticism.
- Journal of Astronomical Instrumentation (World Scientific, 2023): Loeb et al., “Overview of the Galileo Project.” Technical details of the Harvard “Dalek” IR camera; calibration, ADS‑B integration.
- The Guardian (27 Jul 2021): “Galileo Project: scientists to search for signs of extraterrestrial technology” – Maya Yang. Project launch announcement, reference to ODNI report, Loeb’s remarks on scientific scrutiny over political or military interpretation.
- Scientific American (Jul 2021): “Avi Loeb’s Galileo Project Will Search for Evidence of Alien Visitation” – Adam Mann. Project background, aims and scholarly scepticism.