Our popular movies are full of references to UFOs and human-like representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations. However, we seem to treat the possibility of UFOs and aliens actually existing in space as something unimportant. Meanwhile, multiple trustworthy and credible sources claim otherwise, and we have no reason to dismiss their words. Based on what we can learn from astrophysics professionals, NASA scientists, the U.S. intelligence authorities, and foreign space security specialists, the idea of aliens and UFOs being out there should be taken seriously.
To start with, contrary to what many skeptics may believe, true scientists have never denied aliens’ existence because there are simply no findings to argue that extraterrestrial life is impossible. Instead, knowledgeable professionals involved in space research make it clear that new studies uncover even more opportunities for intelligent life outside of our planet to emerge. For instance, Lindsay Hays, a NASA astrobiologist, acknowledges that “the more exoplanets we find around other stars, the more we learn about how many different environments could exist for life” (“Do Aliens Exist” 1:11-1:15). As a program officer responsible for various projects dealing with astrobiological research, she knows it for sure that excessive skepticism with regard to aliens simply has no grounds.
Military forces in the U.S. have gone a bit further than that in implying that alien civilizations are not just someone’s fantasy. In its 2021 report, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence recognized the UFO issue in the U.S. and requested “an intelligence assessment of the threat posed by unidentified aerial phenomena” (2). The agency has some undisputable authority in security-related matters; it also has more access to innovative intelligence technology than anyone else. By the quoted statement, this credible strategic decision-maker basically acknowledges that the previously registered UFOs remain unexplained in our country, which is among the world’s leaders in military power. Even the authorities have to admit that UFOs are a real threat, so there is not much room left for saying that they are nothing more than a science fiction topic.
If it is not convincing enough, there are trustworthy researchers that state aliens’ existence explicitly, without attempts to avoid this specific term. Renowned astrophysicists are convinced that some objects observed in space have been created by alien civilizations that we are yet to discover. In 2017, Robert Weryk, an astronomer from Canada, observed a weirdly behaving dot that moved four times faster than any asteroid and called it Oumuamua (Kolbert). Later, Avi Loeb, who is a professor at Harvard University and an astrophysicist, argued that Oumuamua was “the handiwork of an alien civilization” because of its “non-gravitational acceleration” (qtd in Kolbert). Haim Eshed is a former space security decision-maker in Israel; he currently works as an aeronautics professor and gives lectures at several reputable universities in Israel (Suliman and Goldman). In an interview in 2021, Eshed said that “the Unidentified Flying Objects are here; humanity is not ready yet” (qtd in Suliman and Goldman). Both Loeb and Eshed have the necessary credentials to be considered experts, unlike many skeptics who have never observed or researched space at a professional level.
Finally, these pieces of evidence make it clear that rejecting extraterrestrial civilizations’ existence is not a well-informed viewpoint. Trustworthy agencies and individuals that have access to the most current data from space research either do not deny the idea of extraterrestrial life or claim that aliens are real in a non-ambiguous manner. Under these circumstances, multiple non-professionals’ assertions that life in space is not there look even less convincing.
Works Cited
“Do Aliens Exist? We Asked a NASA Scientist: Episode 5.”YouTube, uploaded by NASA, Web.
Kolbert, Elizabeth. “Have We Already Been Visited by Aliens?”The New Yorker, Web.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence. “Preliminary Assessment: Unidentified Aerial Phenomena.” Web.
Suliman, Adela, and Goldman, Paul. “Former Israeli Space Security Chief Says Extraterrestrials Exist, and Trump Knows About It.”NBC News, Web.