Unconventional Aerial Phenomena Baffle Scientific Understanding, Claims Official Research
A new draft paper, focusing on the physics of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP), also known as UFOs, has been released. The paper, written by the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) and Harvard University, is a collaborative effort to make the scientific conversation around UAPs more credible. However, it's important to note that the paper has yet to be peer-reviewed.
The U.S. government has shown a significant commitment to credible investigations of UAPs. In June 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released a major report, and the Pentagon-established AARO was tasked with investigating aerial, space, and underwater anomalies in 2022. Academic institutions such as the University of Würzburg in Germany are also contributing to the research, with their Profesorship for Space Technology and Interdisciplinary Research Center for Extraterrestrial Studies (IFEX) conducting systematic studies and developing detection and analysis systems for UAP.
The paper, penned by Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the Pentagon's AARO, and Harvard University's Avi Loeb, suggests that many UAPs studied show no signs of expected physical signs, leading to the possibility that they could be sensor-induced optical illusions. Intriguingly, recent UAP observations defy the laws of physics, as they lack optical fireballs, ionization shells, and tails, which should be generated by friction with air or water.
Avi Loeb, one of the authors, is known for his controversial views. In 2017, he caused a stir by suggesting that 'Oumuamua, an interstellar object, could be an artificially made object. Loeb launched the Galileo Project at Harvard University in 2021, focused on developing a rigorous scientific approach to studying UAPs.
Darren Orf, a writer and editor who has previously worked for Gizmodo and Paste, has reported on the Galileo Project's efforts to gather more detailed UAP data than what the military has collected in the past. The Galileo Project aims to analyze the sky in infrared, optical, and radio bands, with observatories planned across the U.S. and eventually worldwide.
Non-profit organizations have also formed to push for more credible investigations into UAPs. The paper stresses that the anomalies observed in UAPs could be explained by our human-instruments not being sensitive enough to understand what's going on. As the scientific community continues to delve into the mysteries of UAPs, it's clear that better data and more sensitive instruments will be crucial for advancing our understanding of these intriguing phenomena.
