If life exists elsewhere in the universe, will we even recognize it?
This question has followed me since I was an undergraduate studying astronomy and interning at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute in California. Scientists who search for life beyond Earth, including astrobiologists who seek biosignatures in the atmospheres of faraway planets, face a conundrum: Bound as we are by our assumptions about human technology and terrestrial life, how should we embark on a scientific search for objects that might be totally alien?
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