Person
Avi Loeb
Harvard astrophysicist who asks for data: his science council tests the PURSUE videos, and in October 2026 he challenged Jay Stratton to show material evidence, not just testimony.
Harvard astrophysicist. In Medium essays he attributes blue dots on Apollo film to cosmic-ray hits, noting similar dots on parts of the film the lens never exposed. No text found on VM006 itself. He chairs the UAP Science Advisory Council, whose papers test the PURSUE videos: one found 112 videos can't show or rule out anomalous speeds without the redacted range data, and one found bird-like wingbeat flicker in the six spheres video. In October 2026 he publicly challenged Jay Stratton to produce data, said Stratton never answered his invitation, and said he finds it plausible that a contractor could hold a craft for decades without knowing what to do with it. He also asked for the location and witness access in the helicopter orb case so scientists can 'go there and obtain high quality data' (New York Post, October 2026).
Claims (10)
Stratton's credentials are high, but we need to see the material evidence or digital data; Stratton gave none, not even documents.analysisSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb (TV interview, October 2026)
He invited Stratton to brief his UAP Science Advisory Council, and Stratton did not respond.Governance BoardfirsthandSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb
Next, partner with the Pentagon to put optical, infrared and acoustic sensors where orbs are seen; if objects move outside the human technology envelope, we will know we have something else.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb
Once we realize there is a tennis ball in our backyard, it means we have a neighbour.analysisSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb
'Jay did not respond to my invitation, even after it was repeated by the Council member, Dr Tim Gallaudet.' The waiver lets former officials share UAP information with designated government investigators without legal risk, and Stratton has offered neither physical nor digital proof.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb (his post and Fox 32, Oct 2026, via IBTimes UK)
Loeb's council has no TS clearances or need-to-know and works for ODNI; members privately complain they are 'hand fed', so Stratton owes them nothing first.Governance BoardsecondhandLeadJeremy Corbell (Weaponized, Oct 2026)
He had two meetings in late August and early September 2026 with Principal Deputy DNI Aaron Lukas, whom he credits with initiating the waiver; he plans new sensors at observation sites, including a relatively large telescope to resolve orbs and take their spectrum.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb (NewsNation, 14 Sep 2026)
On NewsNation the day of Release 07: the objects the Pentagon and the IC cannot identify 'are hovering over strategic assets'.NewsNation: Avi Loeb on PURSUE Release 07 ('hovering over strategic assets')firsthandSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb
He and the people he speaks with have not seen evidence of non-human craft held by corporations such as Lockheed Martin: 'if it exists... please take me to the nearest spacecraft'.NewsNation: Avi Loeb on PURSUE Release 07 ('hovering over strategic assets')analysisSourced, unconfirmedAvi Loeb
He hopes for an answer 'within a year or two', announced by President Trump.NewsNation: Avi Loeb on PURSUE Release 07 ('hovering over strategic assets')speculationLeadAvi Loeb
What Avi Loeb said (4 claims)
On the record 1
“Stratton never answered Loeb's invitation to brief the UAP Science Advisory Council, even after Tim Gallaudet repeated it.”On the recordStratton's window being, Kirkpatrick's reply and Loeb's invitation
Loeb's own post, quoted by IBTimes UK (20 Oct 2026). He adds that Stratton has offered neither physical nor digital proof.
“Loeb: blue dots on Apollo film are cosmic-ray hits. Avi Loeb attributes blue dots on Apollo film to cosmic rays, noting similar dots outside the exposed image area. Not applied by him to VM006 specifically. Max's reply: the dots are the same size, evenly spaced, unblurred and confined to a tiny area”analysisSourced, unconfirmedApollo 17 three dots (war.gov VM006)
“Loeb offers a $10 million prize for material that is clearly alien technology.”firsthandLeadGovernance Board
“The Apollo blue specks may be cosmic-ray hits rather than objects.”analysisSourced, unconfirmedGovernance Board
Cases (8)
- 1972Apollo 17 three dots (war.gov VM006)
- 2009The Lockheed craft offered to AAWSAP
- 2014IM1 (CNEOS 2014-01-08): the "interstellar meteor" and the Pacific spherules
- 2017'Oumuamua (1I/2017 U1): the first known interstellar object
- 2019Beatriz Villarroel, VASCO and the pre-Sputnik Palomar transients
- 2021The Galileo Project (Harvard, Avi Loeb)
- 2025Orbs around a helicopter
- 2026The UAP Governance Board and Loeb's science council
Connected
Jay Stratton personLimits on velocity recovery from the PURSUE sensor videos (arXiv:2608.12445) documentSix objects at 480 mph in a PURSUE infrared video flicker at bird wingbeat rates (arXiv:2610.08692) documentThe Department of War's PURSUE disclosure waiver (14 Sept 2026) documentNewsNation: Avi Loeb on PURSUE Release 07 ('hovering over strategic assets') documentGalileo Project Observatory Class System Architecture documentIntegrated Computing Platform for Detection and Tracking of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) documentCommissioning an All-Sky Infrared Camera Array for Detection of Airborne Objects documentAn investigation of the relationship between morphology and chemistry of the D-type spherules from the recovery expedition of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 bolide: Implications for origins document"Down to Earth" Limits on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in Ukraine (Comment on arXiv:2208.11215) documentOn the Possibility of an Artificial Origin for ‘Oumuamua documentDiscovery of Spherules of Likely Extrasolar Composition in the Pacific Ocean Site of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 (IM1) Bolide documentOverview of the Galileo Project documentPhysical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena documentChemical classification of spherules recovered from the Pacific Ocean site of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 (IM1) bolide documentA New Method to Derive an Empirical Lower Limit on the Mass Density of a UFO documentPeak-Brightness Localization of the CNEOS 2014-01-08 (IM1) Fireball documentDiscovering Numerous Interstellar Objects with A Dedicated Space Telescope documentSkyWatch: A Passive Multistatic Radar Network for the Measurement of Object Position and Velocity documentThe New Astronomical Frontier of Interstellar Objects documentInterstellar Meteors Are Outliers in Material Strength documentThe mass budget necessary to explain ‘Oumuamua as a nitrogen iceberg documentAn Ocean Expedition by the Galileo Project to Retrieve Fragments of the First Large Interstellar Meteor CNEOS 2014-01-08 documentLocalizing the First Interstellar Meteor with Seismometer Data documentPhysical Considerations for an Intercept Mission to a 1I/’Oumuamua-Like Interstellar Object documentThe Scientific Investigation of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Using Multimodal Ground-Based Observatories document
Sources
- IBTimes UK: Burlison considers testimony on the orange orbs (11 Oct 2026, citing the New York Post)
- IBTimes UK: former Pentagon UFO investigator's alien recovery claims (20 Oct 2026)
- Weaponized: Jay Stratton's first-ever interview (Knapp and Corbell, Oct 2026)
- NewsNation: UAP files, Pentagon's file drop and new waiver (Backscroll, Sept 2026)
- NewsNation, Avi Loeb on Release 07, 24 Oct 2026