(NewsNation) — In a whirlwind of cosmic news, Virgin Galactic achieved a groundbreaking milestone with its inaugural commercial space mission, captivating the world’s attention amid a backdrop of intensifying UFO discussions and congressional hearings on Capitol Hill.
Recent congressional hearings on UFO sightings and encounters have spurred both intrigue and skepticism.
Notably, famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson shared his insights on the UFO testimonies, offering a scientific perspective during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
“In science, what people perhaps don’t know is that eyewitness testimony is some of the lowest form of evidence you can bring to a scientific conference,” Tyson said. “Which is odd, because in the court of law, it’s considered quite high.”
UFO whistleblower David Grusch, a former Air Force officer and intelligence official, made claims this summer that the U.S. government has secretly been in possession of nonhuman spacecraft — something that quickly got the attention of lawmakers, who held a hearing on UFOs in July.
However, Grusch largely recounted second-hand testimony and provided no evidence to support his claims.
“So here we are in these hearings, thinking that the pedigree of the person delivering the information adds truth value to what they’re saying. Whereas, in science, part of what modernized science was our ability to create methods, tools, and machines to replace human senses in the reporting of what we experience,” Tyson said.
Tyson stressed the need for more substantial evidence and better data before arriving at definitive conclusions about UFOs.
“I just need better data,” he said.
Tyson expressed skepticism about the quality of available visual evidence, given the prevalence of smartphones and high-resolution cameras.
“We have 6 billion smartphones in the world,” he said. “And at any given moment, there’s a million people airborne with a window looking out into the atmosphere. And everybody has a high-resolution camera, video and stills. And all we have is a fuzzy Tic Tac and some other fuzzy images.”
Joking aside, Tyson called for a comprehensive platform where people can confidently report and share their observations, allowing for broader analysis by the scientific community.
Turning the conversation to space tourism, Tyson weighed in on the recent achievements of Virgin Galactic and SpaceX.
“I’m not gonna value judge it,” he said. “But if people want to spend their hard-earned money … and they want to go see Earth from above? I don’t have any problem with that.”
While acknowledging the excitement surrounding space travel, Tyson emphasized the scientific nuances of reaching what he considers space.
“I have mild issues. I don’t make a big deal of it,” he said about how high space tourism flights actually travel above the Earth. “As an astrophysicist, I can’t call that space travel.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
