People Accepted the Fact of Aliens in the Solar System
One of the most intriguing aspects of the history of the human quest to discover whether or not there is another life in the universe, and whether any of it is recognizably intelligent in the way that we are, is just how much our philosophical mood has changed back and forth across the centuries.
Today we’re witnessing a bit of a "golden age" in terms of active work towards answers. Much of that work stems from the overlapping revolutions in exoplanetary science and solar system exploration, and our ongoing revelations about the sheer diversity and tenacity of life here on Earth. Together these areas of study have given us places to look, phenomena to look for, and increased confidence that we’re quickly approaching the point where our technical prowess may cross the necessary threshold for finding some answers about life elsewhere.