White House Press Secretary: Again, no signs of aliens or extraterrestrial activity.
News host: Pentagon officials were harshly questioned in the Capitol as to why they waited so long to shoot down.
Reporter: Ben, the Pentagon refuses to describe these recent objects as balloons.
Bushwick: As you may have heard, there are foreign objects flying overhead.
Reporter: So yes, it is possible that some of the UFO reports were some kind of foreign surveillance.
Bose: Today we dive into the science behind the ballooning fuss.
White House Press Secretary: Again, there are no signs of alien or Earth activity in these recent takedowns.
Bose: This is Turika Bose.
Bushwick: My name is Sophie Bushwick.
Bose: And you’re hearing science right away.
In a nutshell, on February 4th, the US shot down a giant Chinese surveillance balloon.
Bushwick: After spending a few days traveling across the country.
Bose: Another balloon was also spotted hovering over Latin America.
Bushwick: And since 2018, more balloons have escaped early detection and entered U.S. airspace. China claimed the shot down balloon was a weather station that had been blown off course. But the U.S. has since recovered sensors and electronics from the wreckage, indicating they may have been used to wiretap electronic communications.
Bose: The US shot down three more airborne objects.
Bushwick: One off Alaska, one over Canada, and one over Lake Huron, Michigan.
Bose: Although much is still unknown about these three objects, Scientific American’s resident technical editor, Sophie, decided to interview aerospace experts.
Bushwick: … UAP Expert. I mean, this is someone who specializes in…
Bose: …an unidentified aerial phenomenon?
Bushwick: correct? This is a new and improved term for UFOs.
Bose: I have a lot of questions.
Bushwick: shoot.
Bose: First of all, who did you talk to?
Bushwick: So, in addition to policy experts, we interviewed Ian Boyd.
void: West: Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives here at the University of Colorado.
Bushwick: And to Mick West, the author who investigates and rants about the UAP.
West: Where they listed there were many new UAPs, most of which they identified were balloons.
Bose: It is important to exclude UFOs. So it’s a UAP.
Bushwick: Well, let me preface this by saying it’s not aliens. According to Mick West, it’s because the military doesn’t like to leave anything out.
West: You know, the military said, ‘Yeah, we’ve decided it’s not alien… it’s not alien,’ because you can’t rule everything out.
Bose: oh. have understood. i’m really curious about that. Can it be extended?
Bushwick: Let’s explore the possibility that an alien ship just happened to show up a week after discovering this Chinese surveillance balloon.
Actors of “War of the Worlds”: However, you can see that the object itself doesn’t look much like a meteor. At least it looks like a giant cylinder, not a meteor I’ve seen.
Bushwick: If these objects are alien ships, they will be ships that behave like balloons.
Bose: wait, how does that work?
Bushwick: These particular objects were about the size of a small car, consistent with the size of typical weather balloons, though much smaller than the surveillance balloons that were first shot down. And they didn’t seem to move under their own propulsion. they just got carried away by the wind.
Bose: have understood. However, I heard that the balloon earlier seemed to have changed course. how did you do that? If it’s just moving with the wind.
Bushwick: This is why its maneuverability aspect is so interesting and unexpected. A typical balloon moves at the mercy of the wind and can only change position by moving up and down. However, different altitudes can have different wind speeds, which limits navigation capabilities. That said, the large balloon shot down earlier this month appears to have changed course at some point.
There were also some apparently propeller-like structures.
Bose: How do you know these could actually be spy balloons?
Bushwick: So the recently shot down object could have been a spy balloon, but it could also have been a harmless research balloon. They could have been something else entirely, perhaps another aircraft like an airship. But the reason we’re fairly certain that the first balloons were surveillance platforms was because they had antennas and other equipment on board that could be used to transmit information.
And this is especially worrying as it was moving through several classified military sites, including where missiles are stored.
Bose: Just curious, what did Ian Boyd say about this?
Bushwick: Ian Boyd pointed out that by studying the electronic signals used at these sites, it is possible that an adversary could find ways to jam the signals or interfere with them in some way.
void: It provides more information on counter design, i.e. measures to suppress or disable these types of communications.
Bose: I have one more question. What do you think people misunderstand about balloon coverage, especially when it comes to science and technology?
Bushwick: So while many people enjoy speculation about aliens, they are unlikely to mistake alien spacecraft for balloons. So Mick West studies his UAP and uncovers it. And he pointed out that the government has also taken an interest in investigating these phenomena in recent years and has published reports on them.
West: You may have read the recent UAP report that came out in January. They listed a large number of new UAPs, most of which they identified were balloons. It will not be like a research balloon. They’ll wind up almost like party balloons.
Bushwick: And in these reports, many of the UAPs they investigated turned out to be commonplace… balloons!
Bose: yes. It’s very interesting. So.
Bushwick: With so many balloons in the air, it makes sense.
Bose: But do you think people should get rid of all this, especially from a science and technology standpoint?
Bushwick: One might worry that the three objects were shot down in quick succession, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they were a threat. So after a large spy balloon is detected, NORAD’s radar typically filters out smaller objects. This is because Radar can pick up those Mylar his party balloons. Under certain conditions, even certain clouds can pick up birds.
So they’re adjusting their radar to filter out those small objects. And after spotting a Chinese surveillance balloon, they widened their filters to catch more. And that’s probably why the government detected those balloon-like objects. He claims that it was because he was at an altitude where it was possible.
So the truth is out there. And the truth is balloons. [Laughs]
Bushwick: For Scientific American. My name is Sophie Bushwick.
Bose: This is Turika Bose.
Bushwick: For more news and features, listen to Science Quickly and don’t forget to subscribe to ScientificAmerican.com.
