Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb said Saturday that some of the unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP, featured in a newly released government file dump likely have ordinary explanations, while others warrant further investigation because of their potential implications for national security and science.
Speaking on Newsmax TV's "Saturday Agenda," Loeb cautioned against assuming that every object shown in the released materials represents unexplained technology.
"Some of these are natural events," Loeb said.
He pointed to a widely circulated video of a star-shaped object, saying its appearance was likely caused by the camera rather than the object itself.
"The star-shaped object that you showed — that's a result of a diffraction pattern in the camera that is taking the image," he said.
Loeb added that some of the orb-like objects included in the files could also have conventional explanations, such as laser spots created by human technology or ball lightning, a rare atmospheric electrical phenomenon.
"There are also some of the orbs that may be a result of laser spots ... or a result of ball lightning," he said.
Loeb said the challenge is distinguishing explainable events from those that remain genuinely anomalous.
"We are trying to separate the wheat from the chaff and advise the government how to get more information that will get to the bottom of it," he said.
He said a careful analysis of the government's UAP data could benefit both national security and scientific research.
According to Loeb, the two central questions are whether the objects represent potential security concerns and whether they could provide evidence that humanity is not alone in the universe.
"There are two subjects that are of importance to the American people," Loeb said. "That's national security, as well as, are we alone in the universe? Do we have a neighbor in our cosmic environment?"
Loeb said analyzing government data on anomalous objects could help answer both questions.
He also said officials within the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies remain uncertain about some of the reported phenomena.
"Frankly, the Pentagon, as well as the intelligence agencies, are puzzled about the properties of these objects," he said.
Loeb said the advisory effort he is involved with aims to examine the evidence methodically.
"My council will try to figure out, like in a detective story, what it's all about," he said.
He credited President Donald Trump's directive to review UAP records and declassify information that does not affect national security with making more material available for analysis.
Loeb emphasized that the newly released records represent "a mixed bag," with some cases likely explainable and others requiring additional investigation.
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