Space Object Changing Shape and Separating into Two Objects

It's ironic that my very first post on ATS will be in the UFO section even though that wasn't the main reason for joining this site... and while I am sure ET life exists I have never seen anything unexplained here on Earth. But this morning I witnessed something extraordinary - and I have videos to share.

I am rather skeptical of ALL things, so after witnessing what I did this morning, I searched the Internet for an explanation - and it seemed I did find a very plausible one.... except for one detail which is what caused me to write this post....

Here's the story - like normal, our 2 year old woke up at 5:30 AM here in Phoenix and came to get his dad... and like normal, I went into his room, opened the curtains and figured on playing for a half hour before we could go downstairs (house rules you know!)

Anyway, once I opened the curtain I could see a large owl perched on top of the light post outside out house - now this is not extremely rare but it is not at all normal... so I grabbed the flip video camera, took a quick clip through the window, got the kid dressed and proceeded out side for a better video... It was a good reason to break the rules and since the hot weather finally broke here in AZ, a morning stroll would be fun.

I will post the video of the owl just for fun -


No sooner had we gotten outside and to the end of the driveway when a very large bright light caught my eye... being an amateur astronomer, I was pretty sure it wasn't a planet or a star - it was just too big - I would say about 3 times as big as Venus would appear but maybe 5 times smaller than a full moon...I also brought up the Google Sky Map and the object was in the vicinity of Regulus but this couldn't be a star as the morning sun was already too bright and no other stars were visible. It was weird and caught our attention right away. It certainly wasn't a typical balloon either as it was way too high and was shining just like a star.

Luckily, I had my video camera, so I started filming... but the zoom just wasn't cutting it. If you watch the video - remember to stay out of the road (that's what I tell my kid all the time)

Here is the video of the wide perspective:



So after a few minutes of filming the wide perspective I had the idea that I could film through my binoculars and maybe get a better video, I called this my ghetto configuration since I had to use elastic bands to keep the camera snug to the binoculars and that's my term of endearment. The following is a video clip of a tighter perspective:



At this point, I was thinking this is a weather balloon or space balloon. It looked like the bottom was sort of pointed and the shine was not uniform. I did some google research and came up with this story:

NASA/UNH Supernova space balloon experiment

I was pretty excited that I got to see a space balloon and just as disappointed that it was simply a balloon - but it was cool to witness it - so I went back outside and continued to take video. I knew it would explode at some point and thought it would be cool to see it. I got back outside and was watching it, trying to get the video camera and the binos to cooperate when I noticed that it popped - oh well, it wasn't caught on video but you can see the object, right after - and the weird thing is that something separated from the balloon. Whatever separated didn't fall to the ground but rather looked like it continued to float ever higher - and it was becoming redder than the original object (that could be due to the sun rising over the mountains.) To me, that was pretty abnormal.



I noticed the large 'balloon' remnants fall to earth and eventually disappeared but the separated portion continued up and up.. Maybe it was just part of the experiment - but I never knew a balloon could carry 2000 pounds of cargo that could continue to float ever higher. I am trying to find more information on the experiment but until then - this is the last clip of video after the separation... the smaller object still looks lower but a few minutes after filming this portion, the battery died and the sun was getting too bright however I watched with just the binoculars and the large piece fell back to earth but the smaller object kept rising until the new sun washed it out... it seems that the 'payload' was a one ton experiment - but it sure looked like it was floating higher and higher once the big balloon popped...



Either way, the object should have come down to earth pretty quick - balloons usually pop around 110,000 feet (20 miles) and the object was still in the air 20 minutes after the separation and seemingly still gaining altitude... of course, it is tough to tell which way is up when things are so far away... but without doing the calculations it seemed like the object should have been at least getting lower at a faster rate than what I experienced.

At the end you can see me remove the binoculars from the camera to give you a perspective and you will notice a regular hot air balloon in the frame - we live near a large field and the open desert where balloons regularly take off from - it was just serendipitous I suppose!!!

I am trying to find the 'home page' for the space balloon experiment but wanted to get this out there as soon as possible. I have found another article on the payload from the University of New Hampshire's physics department... the payload was called GRAPE and could have lasted 40 hours.. but if I witnessed the balloon exploding then I think their experiment might have been not so successful - and where did that one ton experiment land?

Here is the link with some more infromation... not sure if this is what I saw but I am trying to get some updates about their experiment... I still want to know where the one ton experiment landed!!!

40 hours test?

I have found this site that seems to track the balloons but it shows as being 0 meters from launch location - so maybe it never actually took off? and the altitude of 4088 ft is probably the elevation of the land it sits on...

Balloon tracking information

As for the owl - well, I never took any videos of it after we got outside... oh well!!!

This reminds me of the seeding UFO video...

reply to post by brettrix


I am not going to pretend that I have any idea what that actually is.

I just wanted to give you this little piece of feedback.
I am impressed by your method of presentation.
Regardless of what it actually is, you made it interesting, while still keeping it real, and plausible.

Well done.

Really good footage, except it bugs me that each clip is only a few seconds long. Sometimes the object can be identified by it's final moments, but alas we aren't going to be seeing it.

Oh and.. that's a huge owl I thought it looked more like a cat

reply to post by brettrix


Very interesting post. Not sure what to make of it though.

Great vids to go along with your observations - VERY NICE!!

This thread is a model for the proper way to post about a personal UFO sighting. You provided date, time, location and an explanation as to how you took the videos. You also did a great deal of background research yourself, rather than just post a shaky video of a light in the sky and ask "what is this?" Bravo! I suspect that your hunch that it was a balloon from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility is correct. Here is a link to the most probable candidate, COFE LUBIN Flight # 623N:

198.120.3.140...

The time appears to be in UT.

Again, great post!

looks like a probe separating from its parachute on final decent just before touchdown , hmmm looks like someone is doing what we are doing to other planets just kidding.

like the other poster said , a short clip wont help , maybe because your mobile phone had a small memory and that's why you couldn't take a longer video? or was it done intentionally ?

Very interesting filmed something very similar myself in 2008 UK Here is a stabilized version skip to 50 second mark and watch in full screen .

In the Morning Owl video, look in the bottom left corner and you'll see Something move behind the roof of the house. It's gone in 3 seconds. What IS that?

Hey All,
Thanks for the positive feedback - my method is based on other posts and threads I have read on ATS - like making sure there are perspectives and other background information that is relevant.

I have longer clips available of each shot but youtube has a 25 MB limit... and since they are HD they tend to be pretty large.

What perspective are you guys most interested in? I won't be able to get them uploaded until after work (8 hours from this post about) but I don't mind at all...

also - when I was using the binoculars, it was tough to get the object in the field of view, so sometimes they clips were edited and short just to keep the frustration level down.

HAHAH I owl does look like a cat - I thought that myself but there is no way a cat could get up that light pole!!!

reply to post by DAVID64

Hey David,

That long blackish vertical line is easily explained.... I was the painter in that room and I am sloppy! It is a drop of paint on the inside of the window that I filmed through -

Now, after looking at the clip again, I do notice something bright behind the owl and the light but before people start asking about that, I can also explain that object as well - It is just an effect of the double pane window... My kid loves looking at the moon through his window at night and telling me there are 2 moons (sometimes, there are even 3 images of the moon when it's really bright - I suspect that is a double reflection between the panes, thus making 3 moons total)

reply to post by DJW001


Can you tell when that flight originated? I live near Casa Grande (the last VOR that was referenced) so it would be cool to try to find the payload --- even thought I am sure it must be tracked by professionals... but what the heck, that is only 20 miles from where I live and how can they allow a 1 ton experiment to just fall to Earth when they are done... you would think people would be aware of it.

thanks for that link - I haven't researched that flight yet

reply to post by brettrix



Thanks. Couldn't figure what that was.

Originally posted by brettrix
reply to post by DAVID64

 

Hey David,

That long blackish vertical line is easily explained.... I was the painter in that room and I am sloppy! It is a drop of paint on the inside of the window that I filmed through -

Now, after looking at the clip again, I do notice something bright behind the owl and the light but before people start asking about that, I can also explain that object as well - It is just an effect of the double pane window... My kid loves looking at the moon through his window at night and telling me there are 2 moons (sometimes, there are even 3 images of the moon when it's really bright - I suspect that is a double reflection between the panes, thus making 3 moons total)

O. M. G. A sane, rational person posting a UFO video, stressing the 'unidentified' aspect of the name...and self-debunking assorted details? There's hope for ATS!

I just had to make a new account after reading this. I've been an avid ATS reader for years now, I've just never had anything of value to discuss!

I saw something eerily similar last night in Surprise, AZ. There's been a lot of mysterious lights in these parts over the past week or two at any given time of the day...

My "encounter" involved an extremely bright white ball-shaped object that appeared in the middle of the sky at about 11:30 P.M. last night (9/18/11). The object was in a static position for no more than half a second-a full second when I first saw it. Then the object began moving upwards in a perfect straight line with a red/orangish tail tapering off of the ball. About a second or two later (this was an extremely short-lived encounter) the ball split into two smaller bright-shaped balls on their upward ascent and promptly disappeared into thin air.

At first, I thought it could have been a flare or something similar, but to my knowledge flares have a longer life span than that of the 5 second encounter with this object...I also thought it could have been something from the nearby Luke Air Force Base, but that's in a South-Eastern position from my humble abode; the UFO was seen in a Western direction near the mountains here.

Anyway, this stuff is happening too frequently to be ignored! I really wish I could have been able to capture this encounter, but due to it's short life span that would've been impossible without a camera already pointed in the direction and already recording.

Great presentation of a personal experience and visual materials. You are thorough, specific and open minded without throwing logic under the bus. Also, great thinking on the binoculars jury rig for better close-ups. As a result of all these things, S&F - whether this is a weather balloon or not the thread is informative - and a great example of how to do a thread in this subject matter.

Great post! I have no idea of what it is either but look at the seperation video...it seems to change shape for a second or so. very weird! your kid sounds adorable too lol. S&F!

reply to post by brettrix

Can you tell when that flight originated?

No, but around 14.00 UT (8.00 AM your time) it was traveling at 1,258 feet/minute straight down! The payload was a microwave telescope, which probably separated accidentally and the parachute failed to deploy. There is an e-mail address on the following webpage:

www.csbf.nasa.gov...

Perhaps you can e-mail them and get additional information. They might even want to see your videos!

reply to post by DJW001
We are on the same track... I called NASA yesterday and left a voice mail - it seems like what I saw was the COFE-T space balloon. This experiment was run by UCAL (Uni of Cali) and stood for cosmic foreground and temperature experiment... not sure the details on it but those can be found thru google, I am sure.

I sent this link and the links to my youtube account and he was pretty interested in seeing them.

He mentioned they monitor the balloon and once the science is done, they 'pop' the balloon and pick up the payload once it gets back to Earth. This balloon was airborne for 22 hours - it was launched Saturday @8:47AM local time and I got to see the 'controlled' descent at around 7AM Sunday. I guess the experiment didn't continue to float upwards as it appeared to but did in fact fall back to Earth.

They remotely activate a switch that opens a hole in the balloon from top to bottom and it also drops the payload and deploys the payload parachute. They do this once the balloon is in the clear and there is no danger of it landing anywhere but the desert....

So it didn't land on anyone's house and it seems they know what they are doing!!!