Do aliens really exist? Are mysterious flying objects – or UFOs – examples of otherworldly technology? These questions have been debated for years. Now, the US government is preparing to get to the bottom of these mysteries. That is why the White House has appointed Harvard University’s famous astronomer and cosmologist Avi Loeb as the head of a new scientific advisory council.
**What is the role of this advisory council?**
The Scientific Advisory Council will investigate mysterious spherical objects and other unidentified flying objects seen by US military personnel in recent years. These events are now officially known as “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena” (UAP). The initiative is part of a plan launched under President Donald Trump to release more government information about UFOs and aliens. Loeb’s team will submit its report to the White House’s new UAP committee.
**What do scientists say about Loeb’s claims?**
Loeb has been researching the possibility of alien life for many years. Regarding a mysterious interstellar object that passed near Earth in 2017, he claimed that it could be a “light cell” separated from an alien spacecraft, while most scientists believed that it was a comet or a piece of ice. His claim made headlines around the world, but a large part of the scientific community did not agree with him. Many experts argue that Loeb is making extraordinary claims without sufficient evidence.
He said that his team will start the investigation assuming that the mysterious flying objects may have been made by humans and will look at the entire matter from a national security perspective. However, he also believes that if the government gathers better information, the decades-old debate over alien life can finally be resolved.
**Who is on Loeb’s team?**
Loeb’s team includes more than a dozen scientists and UFO researchers. These include retired US Navy Rear Admiral Timothy Gallaudet, who previously claimed that some UAPs may be under the control of “non-human intelligence” and that the US has recovered such crashed craft. The team also includes billionaire entrepreneur Ben Lamm, who is working on a project to revive extinct species. After their first meeting, the team requested more than 50 videos, photographs, and other documents related to the UAP from the Pentagon.
**Transparency increased after Trump’s instructions**
The special thing is that earlier this year, President Donald Trump had directed his administration to be more transparent on issues related to UFOs and alien life. Subsequently, the Pentagon released several old and new documents. These documents range from decades-old FBI records to recent military footage, which shows mysterious spherical objects flying rapidly or stationary in the sky. Following this directive, the ‘UAP Governance Board’ was created under the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). It first met in June and will be assisted by several advisory groups, including Loeb’s team.
**Is the government hiding evidence of aliens?**
Meanwhile, leaders of both parties in the US Congress are pressurizing the government to release more information. Some Republican leaders claim that the government is hiding evidence related to aliens. However, the Pentagon’s special office investigating UAPs says that so far no scientific evidence of alien life has been found. Loeb also does not believe in government conspiracy theories. They say,
**From black hole research to study of aliens**
Before becoming involved in alien claims, Avi Loeb was famous for his research on black holes and the formation of galaxies. He has written hundreds of scientific papers and served as chairman of the Astronomy Department at Harvard University for nearly a decade. He started the ‘Galileo Project’ at Harvard, the purpose of which was to find possible remains of alien civilizations. In 2023, his team recovered small, spherical particles of metal from the Pacific Ocean and claimed they may belong to a distant planet or alien technology; However, many scientists dismissed these as volcanic rocks or coal ash.
Loeb doesn’t seem bothered by the criticism
Sean Kirkpatrick, former head of the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), says Loeb has a controversial reputation in the scientific community and that he lacks national security experience. In his opinion, the formation of the team shows that the White House is prioritizing controversial theory over solid science. However, the White House has not commented on these criticisms. Meanwhile, Loeb says his focus will be on the scientific facts. “We should be keeping an eye on those mysterious spherical objects in the sky, not on social media,” he said.
