Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, an astrophysicist from Stockholm University and winner of the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award, reports having had her scientific articles on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs/UFOs) rejected by arXiv, the main preprint repository in physics and astronomy.
The prominent Dr. revolutionized the academic field by publishing peer-reviewed scientific articles accepted in prestigious journals, demonstrating that “transient phenomena” (likely UAPs) were present in high orbits around Earth even before the launch of human-made objects into space, such as the Sputnik satellite, and that they experienced a peak in appearances during nuclear tests
According to Dr. Beatriz Villarroel, two of her papers, already accepted and peer-reviewed in recognized journals, were rejected by the arXiv platform. In a statement published on her X account, the researcher explained that arXiv serves as a central hub for scientific dissemination: “If a paper isn’t there, it’s as if it doesn’t exist. It serves as the core for open scientific exchange. Now, two of our accepted papers were rejected: in one case, I was asked to replace an older paper; in the other, they said the research ‘was not of interest’ to arXiv.”
The scientist highlighted that the stigma surrounding studies on UFOs/UAPs persists, which, according to her, hinders other researchers’ access to new findings.
The rejected papers analyze digitized photographic plates from the Palomar Observatory from the 1950s, prior to the launch of the first satellite, Sputnik. In these plates, Villarroel’s team identified over 106,000 “transients” — brief flashes of light that appear and disappear without immediate explanation. The main criticism is that these phenomena could be defects in the photographic plates. To refute this hypothesis, the team verified that the flashes did not occur within Earth’s umbral shadow, where sunlight could not reflect, suggesting that the transients are consistent with objects in high orbits.
The results showed a significant deficit of transients in that region, indicating that between 30% and 35% of them correspond to real physical objects in orbit, with high reflectivity characteristics.
In a subsequent study, led by Dr. Stephen Bruehl, with Villarroel as co-author, the data were cross-referenced with historical records. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the occurrence of the flashes and two factors: nuclear tests on Earth and public reports of UAP/UFO sightings. This result provides, for the first time, astronomical evidence that may support the relationship between unidentified anomalous phenomena and nuclear activities, a topic frequently mentioned in military reports.
Villarroel’s complaint received support from Marian Rudnyk, an astronomer who worked at NASA and at the Palomar Observatory itself. In a post on X, Rudnyk stated: “Dr. Villarroel’s astronomical work is solid. I have worked with those same plates and know the scientific quality of the study. The rejection by arXiv is embarrassing and reflects an unjustified stigma surrounding UFOs.”
Yesterday, in a long-awaited interview published on Jesse Michels’ channel, Dr. Beatriz Villarroel spoke about the pressure and skepticism faced by her colleagues, emphasizing that the impact of her research will be deeper for the scientific community than for the general public. She also denounced the censorship faced by academics from government agencies such as NASA and the ESA.
According to Villarroel, since the 1960s, civilian space agencies like NASA and ESA have systematically removed from public data the so-called “Uncorrelated Targets” (UTs), classifying them as mere “noise.” She claims that hundreds of these objects are detected every week, and that the filtering process is carried out by military entities — such as the United States Space Force (USSF) — which maintain classified lists of these targets.
UTs are defined as objects that appear in tracking systems — radar and optical sensors — used by space and military agencies, but which cannot be associated with any known satellite, cataloged space debris, or celestial body.
“They see something once or a few times on radar or with optical sensors, and then they can’t track it again. So, it becomes an uncorrelated target,” Villarroel explained.
The main allegation raised by the researcher is that civilian agencies do not perform the filtering themselves: the task is carried out by military entities responsible for removing UTs from official records and maintaining secret lists.
“I don’t think they do it on their own. It’s done by the military, and these are classified lists… It’s the Space Force that keeps this list. These lists are secret, just like the first ones from the 1960s,” she stated.
The revelation made by the astrophysicist suggests that the number of unidentified or untrackable objects in space may be far greater than the figures officially disclosed. If the claim that UTs make up the majority of observed phenomena is true, this would indicate a systematic, decades-long effort to conceal or downplay the presence of unexplained space phenomena.
The report highlights the need for greater transparency and public debate regarding the classification of space data — an issue that affects both global security and scientific progress.
🛸🚨NASA INSIDER Told Top Astronomer Who Started Detecting UFOs That NASA DETECTS AND SCRUBS "Uncorrelated Targets" (UFOs) All The Time! And Space Force keeps the data!👇 pic.twitter.com/vHdu0codP4
— American Alchemy (@AmericanALCHMY) October 25, 2025These claims by Dr. Villarroel find echoes in other accounts that suggest a similar pattern of control over astronomical data. Reports indicate that before data from major observatories are released, they are first intercepted and reviewed by a U.S. government agency. The official reason given is to remove classified imagery that might expose secret spacecraft or reconnaissance satellites. However, this practice raises the question: are only military assets being filtered out, or could other unidentified phenomena also be systematically erased from the public record?
A revealing case involves astronomer Željko Ivezić, director of the $1 billion Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. In early 2023, Ivezić described how his team was required to negotiate with an unnamed U.S. agency—communicating only through intermediaries—before the telescope could begin operations. The result was an agreement in which all sky images would first be encrypted and sent to a secure facility in California, where classified objects would be automatically removed before the data were shared with the global scientific community. According to Ivezić, this procedure mirrored a similar one imposed years earlier on the Pan-STARRS project in Hawaii, where images returned to astronomers with entire sections blacked out.
These revelations align with Villarroel’s concern that civilian astronomers may not have full access to the skies they believe they are studying. If data from powerful observatories are filtered by military agencies before being made public, the number of unidentified or uncorrelated objects could be far higher than officially disclosed. Together, these accounts reinforce the urgent need for transparency in how astronomical data are managed—and invite a broader discussion about the boundaries between national security, science, and the search for truth beyond Earth.
Below, watch the full interview.
