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dalton99a

(96,395 posts)
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 08:32 PM Tuesday

Harvard professor with polarizing alien theories is picked to lead new White House UFO council

https://apnews.com/article/trump-ufo-council-avi-loeb-science-uaps-5798dd793b77aeb2d9baa99586ad8a85

Harvard professor with polarizing alien theories is picked to lead new White House UFO council
By COLLIN BINKLEY
Updated 2:39 PM CDT, June 30, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — A polarizing Harvard astronomer known for splashy theories about alien visits has been tapped by the White House to lead a team of outside scientists to study the national security risks posed by UFOs.

Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020, was recently appointed to helm a new scientific advisory council tasked with investigating the origins of mysterious orbs and other objects reported by military personnel in recent years. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s push to declassify more information about the issue.

Loeb’s team will report to a new White House panel focused on UFOs, now often referred to as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP.

For the last decade, Loeb has been scanning the skies and seas for evidence of intelligent alien life. He began the quest in 2017 as scientists puzzled over an interstellar object soaring by Earth. While others proposed it was a comet or ice chunk, Loeb said it could be a thin “light sail” detached from an alien spacecraft.

Sean Kirkpatrick, a physicist who previously investigated UAP at the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, said Loeb is “not viewed favorably” in the scientific community and lacks national security experience. He said the makeup of Loeb’s team suggests the White House is more interested in fringe theories than hard science.

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According to Loeb, the "fundamental question" is if the Ark of Covenant was a device used to communicate with extraterrestrials and if the Jewish people were chosen by a race of aliens and imbued with "information from beyond our planet".[94] As reported by The Forward, Loeb contends that Earth may not be safe for the Jewish people and leaving Earth could be advantageous due to the absence of antisemitism in outer space.[95] Writing on his Medium blog, he has posited that "with long-term thinking, Jewish eschatology could be extended to trillions of years if a Jewish community with its synagogues and extraterrestrial Temple is established".[96]

In 2024, Loeb delivered a speech in which he declared his view that the Messiah will be an alien who arrives from outer space.[97] In 2025, Loeb was the speaker at "Extraterrestrial Intelligence and the Jews", an event presented by Lehrhaus.[98]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avi_Loeb
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Harvard professor with polarizing alien theories is picked to lead new White House UFO council (Original Post) dalton99a Tuesday OP
Only the bestest. Dave Bowman Tuesday #1
He probably got his degree from this REAL university: Wonder Why Tuesday #2
Or from Jupiter, Florida. Dave Bowman Tuesday #13
The White House has a "UFO council"? wcmagumba Tuesday #3
Investigating UAPs is a near complete waste of time -misanthroptimist Tuesday #11
This message was self-deleted by its author wcmagumba Tuesday #15
About the sky and what one can see in it...yes, I do. -misanthroptimist Tuesday #18
I and 6 DiverDave Tuesday #17
You saw something, I won't dispute that -misanthroptimist Tuesday #19
We were riding in my grandparents DiverDave 18 hrs ago #20
He will be accompanied by his assistant dweller Tuesday #4
Ancient Aliens: Could it be possible? Onthefly Tuesday #5
He isn't going to find intelligent life in the Trump White House. highplainsdem Tuesday #6
Has he checked Boo1 Tuesday #7
Clowns to the left, jokers to the right struggle4progress Tuesday #8
Trump hires another crackpot. Disaffected Tuesday #9
Dr. Avi Loeb, PhD, is a great choice to lead the investigation. Kid Berwyn Tuesday #10
Dr. Loeb is a carnival barker with a degree. -misanthroptimist Tuesday #12
His mentor: Dave Bowman Tuesday #14
'extraterrestrials and if the Jewish people were chosen by a race of aliens' Intractable Tuesday #16

wcmagumba

(7,049 posts)
3. The White House has a "UFO council"?
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 08:38 PM
Tuesday

I think UAPs should be investigated but by someone other than t-rump and the Republicans. They can't be trusted.

-misanthroptimist

(1,964 posts)
11. Investigating UAPs is a near complete waste of time
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 10:02 PM
Tuesday

Most people don't know enough about the sky to have an opinion on what they're looking at. That includes pilots. And 99%+ of all UAP reports are going to be something perfectly natural, though perhaps unusual, for the atmosphere or outright fraud. The remainder will be so useless as to disallow any real investigation. (Think of all the fuzzy pictures that could be anything.)

But for the sake of argument, suppose we really did find hard evidence that a UAP came from another planet. What are we going to do? Obviously, if they wanted to make contact with us, they would do it. If they didn't want contact...well, we're pretty much powerless to force the issue. If they want to attack us, we're probably pretty much powerless to prevent it.

The real chance that any human has ever seen an alien spacecraft is so small that it is indistinguishable from zero.

Response to -misanthroptimist (Reply #11)

-misanthroptimist

(1,964 posts)
18. About the sky and what one can see in it...yes, I do.
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 11:10 PM
Tuesday
Here's an extensive list of aerial phenomena

Of course, that is just day time phenomena.

Night time is a whole other list of things including:

Bright planets (esp. Venus)
Meteors, bolides, fireballs
Satellites
Flocks of birds
Aurorae
Various man-made effects from rockets, lasers, and other things
STEVEs
and many others

Additionally, I know that the nearest star to Earth (aside from Sol) is over four light-years away. Getting from there to here would take many years (thousands based on our technology). Any aliens that could make such a journey could easily make themselves known to us. The fact that they haven't means either they don't want to talk to us...or they've never been here.

-misanthroptimist

(1,964 posts)
19. You saw something, I won't dispute that
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 11:17 PM
Tuesday

How could I?

I saw "one" one night. It's an intense experience. Being me, I stood out there for 15-30 minutes trying to make sense of what I had seen. Then an identical object flew over. This time, I heard one of the geese honk. I then resolved the others in the flock that was lit from underneath by city lights. Turns out, that our brains don't always process visual things under low-light conditions.

But even after I knew what it was, I was still a bit wigged out. I get it.

DiverDave

(5,278 posts)
20. We were riding in my grandparents
Wed Jul 1, 2026, 07:26 AM
18 hrs ago

Car. Saw a cigar shaped something. For about 10 seconds. Went behind a tree and it was gone.


dweller

(28,994 posts)
4. He will be accompanied by his assistant
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 08:48 PM
Tuesday

Sparkle Rabinowitz of Cosmic Cosmetology , pictured below, a specialist for otherworldly preparations in acquiescence to our alien Overlords








✌🏻

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Kid Berwyn

(25,555 posts)
10. Dr. Avi Loeb, PhD, is a great choice to lead the investigation.
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 09:59 PM
Tuesday

Top scientist and he’s fearless.

Intractable

(2,609 posts)
16. 'extraterrestrials and if the Jewish people were chosen by a race of aliens'
Tue Jun 30, 2026, 10:59 PM
Tuesday

We have definitively found the source of the famed Jewish space lasers.

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