05-31-2021, 09:55 AM (This post was last modified: 05-31-2021, 04:11 PM by TomK.)
(05-30-2021, 12:33 AM)Hotinhawaii2 Wrote:
(05-29-2021, 07:58 PM)HereOnThePrimalEdge Wrote: Any idea who launched this one?
Years ago I watched a silver weather(?) balloon released near the old control tower at Hilo airport. It was approximately 4-6 feet across(?). They were inside the fence so I assume state or federal officials. Sorry I can't be more specific, but it was awhile ago. Perhaps you can call an airport administrative office and ask if they know of an agency that might launch a balloon from there?
(Be careful looking into a telescope aimed near the sun before it sets. It would only take a moment to burn your retina)
This one was gigantic! I think it must have been the $2 million kind. I have read that many companies have launched them to get very high res images of the earth. I could tell it was nothing like a 4-6 foot balloon. I could clearly see the ridges on the sides and I could see it billowing in the wind.
As for the UFO title, I'm sticking with it. It was a UFO for an hour for me and many others saw it and no one could identify it. It appeared round and stationary to the naked eye.
A weather balloon that expands to the size of a football field because it is high in the atmosphere, would not be stationary, nor would you have the equipment to get an in-focus and sharp image of it. In addition, how would you know how large it was without a reference? You can only do that if you determine its angular size and distance. How did you do that? Thirdly, once the balloon would have reached an altitude of a few thousand feet, it would have been moving with the winds associated with the jetstream that flows roughly west to east. That would mean it would have been moving quite quickly and not stationary and doesn't explain where it would have been launched from. Finally, now you say the naked eye, not from the telescope you used, and who are these other people?
(05-29-2021, 07:28 PM)kalakoa Wrote: I'm very impressed
This positive feedback really brightened my day. I am proud to be part of such a supportive community.
Given all the whining and complaining you do, it's really nice to see that you now have a positive attitude. Thank you for the feedback and hope you are able to continue in the same manner.
I'm not convinced that explains anything, but it's interesting to see Hawaii is way up there in the top UFO spotting states. Any updates on aliens landing at the Kalapana landing site?
A new piece of equipment at the National Weather Service station in Hilo makes light work of high-altitude weather monitoring.
An automatic sounding station went online at the Hilo NWS station last week, which automates the process of preparing high-altitude weather balloons to monitor conditions in the upper atmosphere. “It’s a pricey bit of equipment,” Butler said, explaining that it cost the NWS about $800,000. “But our equipment has been getting old and wearing out so we’re updating and automating our technology.”
Machine auto launches weather balloons twice daily from Hilo https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...from-hilo/ The balloons are filled with hydrogen generated from an on-site fuel cell and rise up to 100,000 feet, whereupon they burst and the instruments fall to the earth below — usually the ocean.
Thanks TomK. I was impressed with myself. Here is an article about these types of balloons. https://www.wired.com/story/giant-survei...-of-space/ I was able to see very clearly that it was the same ribbed, transparent form as this with a dark payload at the bottom. As for size, I could watch the ripples of the fabric in the wind and could see that the balloon must have been large to billow the way it did. I was trying to use my slr camera to try and snap a pic of it through the telescope but the clouds and setting sun foiled my plans.
I’ll let others debate the business of satellite photography acquisition and usage.
Just curious, but did you see another balloon this evening? There was a bright light, unmoving, several degrees to the left and above the sun which had already set below Mauna Kea.
