White House names Harvard professor to lead handpicked UFO council
Avi Loeb, Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University speaks on stage as Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking host press conference to announce Breakthrough Starshot, a new space exploration initiative, at One World Observatory on April
The Trump administration selected a controversial Harvard astronomer to lead their new scientific advisory council to study if UFOs may present any national security risks.
On a directive for more transparency on questions about UFOs or UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) and alien life, the Trump administration created a UAP Governance Board. Cosmologist Avi Loeb was tasked to lead a team in support of the group to investigate the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported in recent years.
Loeb will lead a team of scientists and UFO activists from a retired Naval admiral to a biotech billionaire. Loeb said he promises a grounded approach, approaching it from a national security perspective, looking to settle the alien debate once and for all.
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Who is Avi Loeb
While he has received some praise for his work in astronomy, Loeb has also received his share of criticism as well. The space maven has been accused of making up exotic claims with little evidence.
The backstory:
Back in 2017, astronomers at Arizona State University discovered a disc-shaped object hurling through our solar system. While scientists say the mystery object was possibly frozen nitrogen broken off from a Pluto-like world, Loeb took a different approach. He said it could be a thin "light sail" that detached from an alien spacecraft.
Further polarizing content where he suggested that metallic "spherules" from a study of a site of a possible meteor crash in the Pacific Ocean may have come from a distant planet or from alien technology.
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The other side:
Arizona State University astrophysicist Steve Desch called some of the conclusions Loeb has reached about alien life wild, identifying his methods as flawed. He believes his inclusion cast doubt on the entire process initiated by the administration.
What they're saying:
"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 in charge," Desch said.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.