Avi Loeb
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 👤 Person
Contents 7
| Type | Person |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Abraham Loeb |
Abraham "Avi" Loeb (born 26 February 1962) is an Israeli-American theoretical physicist and astronomer at Harvard University. He is known for arguing that some objects passing through the Solar System could be alien technology, and for founding the Galileo Project to search for such evidence. In June 2026 he was reported to have been named chair of a newly formed UAP Science Advisory Council.[1]
Early life and career
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Loeb was born in Beit Hanan, Israel, and earned a PhD in plasma physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1986. From 1983 to 1988 he worked on a propulsion concept for the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative, and from 1988 to 1993 he was a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He then joined Harvard, where he chaired the astronomy department from 2011 to 2020.[1]
ʻOumuamua
In 2017 astronomers detected ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System. In October 2018 Loeb and his postdoctoral researcher Shmuel Bialy submitted a paper asking whether the object's unexpected acceleration could be explained if it were a thin solar sail, possibly an artificial one. Most astrophysicists rejected the idea as unsupported by the evidence, but it brought Loeb wide public attention. He set out his case in the 2021 popular book Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth.[1]
The Galileo Project
In July 2021 Loeb announced the Galileo Project, a privately funded effort to look for evidence of extraterrestrial technology. It has three stated lines of research: obtaining high-resolution images of UAP, studying interstellar objects like ʻOumuamua, and searching for possible alien satellites.[1][2]
IM1 spherules
Loeb argued that a fireball observed by U.S. government sensors on 8 January 2014, catalogued as CNEOS 2014-01-08 and nicknamed IM1, came from outside the Solar System. In 2023 he led an expedition to the Pacific Ocean floor and announced that it had recovered tiny metallic spherules of interstellar origin. Critics argued that the samples were consistent with coal ash or other terrestrial pollution, and in 2024 a team led by Benjamin Fernando reported that a seismic signal Loeb had used to locate the impact was produced by a truck driving near the sensor.[1]
3I/ATLAS
In 2025 the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile discovered the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Loeb speculated publicly that it could be an alien device, though he later conceded that it was most likely a comet.[1]
UAP Science Advisory Council
In June 2026 Loeb was reported to have been named chair of a newly formed UAP Science Advisory Council, created at the request of the White House. According to the reports, the council has no budget and no access to classified material.[1]
References
- Avi Loeb — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Avi Loeb's Galileo Project Will Search for Evidence of Alien Visitation", Scientific American (2021) · scientificamerican.com · archived copy
This page was last edited on 31 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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