A Harvard astronomer known for his black hole studies and polarizing theories about aliens, Avi Loeb, has been chosen to lead a team for the White House to study the national security risks of UFOs.
Avi Loeb is a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as a head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020. One of the things Loeb is most known for, however, is his polarizing theories regarding aliens and Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).
Now, Loeb has been chosen to lead a White House team of outside scientists to study the national security risks that are posed by UFOs. He was appointed to lead the new scientific advisory council that will be responsible for investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects that have been reported by military personnel in recent years, according to AP.
This new council is a part of President Donald Trump’s effort to declassify more information regarding UFOs and extraterrestrial life. Loeb’s team will be reporting to a new White House panel that is specifically focused on UFOs, which are now also referred to as Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).
Loeb has spent the past 10 years looking and studying the skies and the Earth’s natural bodies of water for evidence of alien life. He began in 2017 when the scientific community became interested in an interstellar object that flew over the Earth. At the time, many thought it could just be a comet or chunk of ice, but Loeb said it could potentially be a “light sail” detached from an alien spacecraft.
“It’s like a detective story. It’s a lot of fun, as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the critics.”
While many individuals and experts who study the potential of UFOs and UAPs have hailed Loeb for his work in the past, he was also met with a lot of criticism from academic peers. Astronomers have often accused him of making “exotic claims with little evidence.” Others also discredit his work because he skips peer review and brings his theories directly to the public.
Steve Desch, and Arizona State University astrophysicist who has gone against some of Loeb’s theories in the past, said that Loeb uses “flawed methods to reach wild conclusions about alien life,” and that he disregards actual established branches of science who have the same mission of looking for life outside of Earth.
“I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but we’re not going to get any closer to answering these questions with him [Loeb] in charge,” Desch said.
Loeb, however, has never been one to listen to the critics, and simplifies their views as a “lack of imagination.” With his new position, he’s promising to give a grounded approach to his work, and is starting by analyzing UAP under the assumption that they’re the work of humans, he said to AP, but believes his work will lead him to something bigger.
“If the government invests in better data collection on UAPs, it could settle the alien debate once and for all.”
Loeb’s team consists of over a dozen scientists and UFO activists, including Timothy Gallaudet, a retired rear admiral who has always warned about UAP controlled by nonhuman intelligence. Ben Lamm, a billionaire working to revive extinct species, is also on the team.
The whole council met for the first time last month, and since has sent a request to the Pentagon asking for over 50 videos, images, and other documentation related to past-known UAP incidents.
“At a time when science is not so much celebrated, this is an opportunity to actually do good for all sides involved.”
Earlier this year, Trump directed his administration to provide a greater understanding and transparency when it came to talking about UFOs, UAPs, and aliens. The Pentagon has since released three sets of files ranging from decades-old FBI reports, to more recent military videos.
The new UAP Governance Board is being overseen by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The board is supported by Loeb’s team and several other advisory groups, according to the office.
Congress is also pushing the White House to go even further with their efforts. Many Republicans have claimed that the US is hiding evidence of actual alien encounters, while the White House has encouraged anyone with information to come forward. On the other end, a Pentagon office that investigates UAP has stated there has never been evidence of alien life.
“My impression is the government is baffled by not being able to infer the nature of some of these objects,” Loeb said in regards to cover-up theories.
Before embarking on the world of aliens, Loeb was known in the scientific community as a cosmologist who authored hundreds of papers that specialized in black holes and how galaxies are born. He was also the chair of Harvard’s astronomy department for about 10 years.
Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist who previously investigated UAP at the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, stated that Loeb “is not viewed favorably” in the scientific community and “lacks national security experience. He also said the makeup of Loeb’s team shows that the White House is more interested in theory than actual provel science.
Loeb’s response, however, is to “keep our eyes on the orbs, not the social media.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
