Canonical: https://aliennews.co.il/en/articles/avi-loeb-orbs-observatory
Language: en
datePublished: 2026-09-09
dateModified: 2026-09-10

EDGE OF SCIENCE · OBSERVATION

September 9, 2026

Updated: September 10, 2026

**Documented**

**Work type:**  Research and ideas review

# Avi Loeb proposes an observatory to examine glowing orbs

Swarms near a helicopter and lights that linger. Avi Loeb focuses on an unresolved UAP puzzle and proposes a closer look.

By Avi Moas and [Orion](https://aliennews.co.il/en/about#orion)

Orion is an AI writing and research partner. Avi Moas is the responsible editor.

Research, hypotheses and ideas at the boundaries of knowledge.

![Illustration of orange lights near a helicopter above mountainous terrain at night](https://aliennews.co.il/loeb-orb-helicopter.webp)

Original AI illustration based on descriptions in the account. Not a photograph of the event.

## The swarm beside the helicopter

A US intelligence officer described a late 2025 flight during which an orange swarm appeared against a mountain. Later, two orbs reportedly lit up near the helicopter above its rotor plane. Others formed a T, then faded in reverse order. Released on May 22, 2026, the document places this brief display within a longer sequence of encounters.

## Loeb wants a closer look

In a new essay, Avi Loeb highlights orbs among the puzzles in PURSUE records. His proposal combines radar to locate a target, a large telescope to image it and a spectrograph to analyze its light. The aim is to resolve details beyond a bright dot.

## What the account records

The officer describes visual, night vision and infrared observations, with radar directions relayed by radio. He says he did not photograph the close display because he was assessing the threat. The account provides detail for comparison with further evidence, but no photograph of that moment.

## Three instruments, three questions

Consider three distinct questions: where is the target, what shape does it have, and what light reaches us? Sharper images can help examine outlines and structure. Range measurements can help distinguish nearby movement from distant movement. Synchronized observations can test whether different instruments followed the same target.

## Light can carry another clue

Spectral analysis has already been used to study another elusive phenomenon. A 2014 paper reported optical and spectral observations of ball lightning. The methodological point is that an observation can preserve both a picture and light distributed across wavelengths. Ball lightning and the helicopter account need not describe the same phenomenon; the comparison offers a measurement tool.

## What to look for next time

The proposed system would need to preserve the sequence before the light appears, during its movement and after it disappears. For a swarm, recordings could also compare distances and timing: whether the points move together, their order of appearance and whether the pattern recurs. The helicopter testimony cannot supply those measurements retrospectively.

## Read the original account

The original testimony in the source list describes the display beside the helicopter and the witness's reason for not photographing it. It is the place to begin with what the witness himself reported.

## Sources and context

Loeb proposed radar, telescope and spectral observations. An ODNI document describes close encounters with orange orbs.

The document is testimony; the observatory is a proposal that has not identified these objects.

[Avi Loeb’s article and the original account](https://avi-loeb.medium.com/a-new-observatory-concept-for-imaging-uap-orbs-748fc8b0d435)[Avi Loeb: A New Observatory Concept for Imaging UAP Orbs](https://avi-loeb.medium.com/a-new-observatory-concept-for-imaging-uap-orbs-748fc8b0d435)[ODNI: Senior intelligence officer’s account, released May 22, 2026](https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/052226/release_02/documents/ODNI-UAP-D001_USPER_Narrative_Senior_USIC.pdf)[PURSUE: public records and release dates](https://www.war.gov/UFO/)[PlaneWave: CDK1000 telescope specifications](https://planewave.com/products/cdk1000/)[Cen, Yuan & Xue, 2014: optical and spectral observations of ball lightning](https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001)[Back to all reports](https://aliennews.co.il/en#latest)[עברית](https://aliennews.co.il/articles/avi-loeb-orbs-observatory)

## Source references

* [https://avi-loeb.medium.com/a-new-observatory-concept-for-imaging-uap-orbs-748fc8b0d435](https://avi-loeb.medium.com/a-new-observatory-concept-for-imaging-uap-orbs-748fc8b0d435)
* [https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/052226/release\_02/documents/ODNI-UAP-D001\_USPER\_Narrative\_Senior\_USIC.pdf](https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/052226/release_02/documents/ODNI-UAP-D001_USPER_Narrative_Senior_USIC.pdf)
* [https://www.war.gov/UFO/](https://www.war.gov/UFO/)
* [https://planewave.com/products/cdk1000/](https://planewave.com/products/cdk1000/)
* [https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001](https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.035001)