UAlbany professors studying UFOs find unidentified object

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Two professors at the University at Albany are hoping to make a major scientific break studying unidentified anomalous phenomena, UAPs, formerly known as UFOs. They recently published their findings in a journal, where they said there was one object they couldn't identify.

“UAPs formerly known as UFOs have been in the popular culture for about 80 years now and they’ve never really been studied scientifically and carefully," said Kevin Knuth, a physics professor at the University at Albany.

Matthew Szydagis and Knuth both teach physics at the University at Albany, but recently they've been doing more than just teaching. The two professors are trying to create a scientific field around the study of UAPs, but they said it hasn't been easy.

"There’s stigma against it because it's laughed at and because of the stigma there's lack of funding," said Szydagis.

However, despite the stigma the two professors have been continuously researching. In 2021, the team tested their studies for the first time in Laguna Beach. Szydagis said the Catalina Island area has been known for decades as a hotspot for UAPs.

“We set up a series of cameras both visible light, ordinary cameras, as well as infrared cameras as well to get temperatures of objects," said Szydagis.

The infrared cameras help not only determine the temperature of objects, but also see things more clearly at night. Szydagis said using that technology, they were able to find a number of mundane objects including the moon, airplanes, helicopters and more. Their findings just got published here in June.

“Most things we’re able to identify, a helicopter, a drone, a paraglider even we can see a little person," said Szydagis.

However, there is one thing neither scientist can explain. Szydagis showed NEWS10s Vanessa Blasi video of their studies which depicted a few pixels that Szydagis said were out of the ordinary.

“We have a few dark pixels I mean this is infrared so that represented the temperature, but it's really strange it represents a color that doesn't seem to be any of the standard hot or cold colors, and it only exists for a few frames, and its a small collection of pixels and the shape and behavior are not readily identifiable as a plane or drone,” said Szydagis.

However, all of that considered Szydagis said its possible the speck seen in the videos could just be a camera glitch.

“It's very hard to prove multiple negatives, an object is not a whole series of prosaic objects because you can never be sure that you've got a complete list of mundane objects so its very tricky and its very difficult," said Szydagis. "We walk a very fine line because we are also open to those more exotic possibilities but we want to find convincing hard evidence using solid equipment and not just eye witnesses."

With new technology and more scientists, Szydagis and Knuth are hoping to find out more information.

“We need people we need other scientists to get interested and do their own studies and write their own scientific papers," said Szydagis. "And create a web of people who are working together."

Knuth and Szydagis are also looking for the possibility of UAP hotspots on the northeast. For more information on the study, visit their research article here.