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Thread: What's that in the sky?

  1. #1

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    What's that in the sky?

    I came out to the airport about 1 pm to find a group of people looking up to the blue sky, so I asked why and they pointed a white dot there, no doubt, seen by dozens of people from valet to pilots to counter people for over an hour. When seen through binoculars it looks white, some people think a bit metalic, and it is mostly round. The other characteristic is that it doesnt move with the wind, it was stationary. So cant be a balloon, and too low to be a satellite or planet or the moon, It is just below the highest scattered cloud layer which FSS estimates at 18,000 msl. Wind aloft at 18 is 290 at 11 and you can see the scattered layer move just over this. I check with tower and FSS and they hadnt heard of it and had no notam. Hard to tell size wise but another white dot came over and turned out to be a corp jet, and this balloon like thing was a farther away so had some size, perhaps like a medium plane. Not a copter and would be a rare one to hover around 18,000 not moving that long or talking to approach control.
    It qualifes as a UFO in the sense that it sure is unidentified, at least to us, and sure is floating in the sky if not flying.
    An no alcohol or drugs are invollved.
    My off hand guess is that it is something scientific or military, but how do they get a balloon that stays in place that high and doesnt swing on a tether? Maybe a large drone, but for what?
    would be nice if someone had some knowledge to give us?
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 08-13-2017 at 11:18 PM.

  2. #2
    gbrasch's Avatar
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    where?
    Glenn Brasch
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  3. #3
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gbrasch View Post
    where?
    Just to the left of that whatchamacallum out thataway.....

    Ron "And straight on 'til morning" Wanttaja

  4. #4
    DaleB's Avatar
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    Maybe one of these?
    Measure twice, cut once...
    scratch head, shrug, shim to fit.

    Flying an RV-12. I am building a Fisher Celebrity, slowly.

  5. #5

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    About 3 miles north east of Aspen airport, sort of toward Ruedi Reservoir, partway toward Leadville and based on the clouds as reported by FSS about 18,000 feet. Its not there today.

    Thanks Dale, but this is not real high, nowhere near space and it did not move at all with the wind unlike a balloon. And I havent heard of NASA anywhere near here.
    Today I asked the tower controller at Eagle, which is just north of here about it and he was pretty abrupt and not so friendly. Does that mean he knows something confidential or was just busy and thought my question was silly?
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 08-15-2017 at 06:56 AM.

  6. #6

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    Could be an airship (powered balloon). Manned or unmanned.
    Could stay in position in up to 80 knot winds if streamlined.

  7. #7

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    Bill, maybe. I dont know of anyone who has a blimp or airship around here and of that size. Its a guess but based on a corp jet that passed the same spot later, this thing was likely the size of medioum corp plane, maybe a Citation or similar, not as high from top to bottom as Goodyear blimp.
    And it didnt move at all ,not up down or laterally, nor did the perspective chamge. If someone had an airship they probably would have to let Tower or approach or FSS know? And why would they hover there for an hour and a half or so. Wind was only 11 knots, 290 at 11 but an airship would hover pointing nose into wind. This didnt look like that, didnt really have a nose but if anything it was sort of pointing north.It seemed round sort of like Pillsbury hot biscuit, it didnt seem to be round and flat like a saucer or tube shaped like a fuselage. It was white, bright white but I think that was the sun hitting it, A few people thought it looked metallic but not so much to me.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 08-14-2017 at 07:50 PM.

  8. #8
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    On the surface of it, it could be sensitive DEA long-term surveillance. That would explain the apparent behavior, the lack of a NOTAM, and the tower guy's reluctance to talk about it.

    On the other hand, there's an observational issue: Whether the object was actually below the scattered cloud layer. A solid layer is pretty positive, but a bright object and a scattered layer could play tricks on the brain. Could be a star/planet/high-altitude balloon. The longer-than-assumed range would make the object appear fairly stationary.

    Ron Wanttaja

  9. #9

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    We had a really good view as mulitple clouds formations came by for over an hour. Im sure this object was just below the top clouds, other people agreed, and FSS gave the layers as broken at 15,000 and scattered at 18,000 and that looked about right since we had mountains below this at 12,500 or so for comparison Motion could be judged pretty well as there was a car lined up with a tall spruce tree right in line with this dot, and it never varied the whole time, also never varied altitude in relation to the clouds or the angle we looked up at it.
    I was indoors when the lower broken clouds came by thick enough to block this and when they passed it was gone. Havent seen it today.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 08-14-2017 at 11:13 PM.

  10. #10
    Dana's Avatar
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    If a balloon was drifting with an 11kt wind at 18,000' it would appear stationary to an observer on the ground unless you observed it for a long time.

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