NewSmoke208Of all of the legitimate questions about the #Chinese #Spy #Balloon, here is the most important: why was it white in color? A dark blue color at 60,000 feet would easily blend into the sky, making it near impossible to see with the naked eye. As white, it would blend into a white/gray cloudy sky, but at 60,000 feet, it flies above the clouds, not under. #Politics #science
Chupacabra 78704@btil Will we ever know?
Kevin Guthrie@btil White to ameliorate heating up in daylight. As the balloon heats up the gas expands and the balloon gains altitude. At night they lose altitude. You can go thru a lot of ballast trying to maintain it. Hot air balloons are steerable, as wind direction changes with altitude If the balloon has remote control of ballast dropping then it can be steered. Next windy day look up and see which direction clouds are moving compared to the winds you feel on the ground.
Strawberry Pigtails@btil Plausible deniability. It is, after all, a “weather balloon“.
I personally don’t really understand all of the hoopla about it. It’s not like we don’t do similar things. Just knock it down and use it against them in whatever trade negotiations are up next. There’s no need for all the saber rattling.
A “Ha, ha! Caught you!” should be enough.