Case file · Non-fiction & research literature
Loeb & Kirkpatrick, 'Physical Constraints on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena'
Draft paper by Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb and AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick on the physics of reported high-speed UAP.
2023 CE · 42.38, -71.13 · status: account
The account
The authors argue that objects moving as fast as some reports claim would create fireballs, ionization and radio signatures through friction with air or water, which have not been seen, suggesting sensor errors are more likely than new physics. It also discusses how an interstellar 'mothership' might release small probes, which drew attention.
The sceptical view
It was a non-peer-reviewed draft, and UFO advocates objected that it assumed known physics.