Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over Montana
A mysterious balloon the size of 18 buses seen hovering over Billings, Mont., has been confirmed to be of Chinese origin. At a briefing Thursday, the Pentagon said the balloon had been observed via multiple methods for a number of days, including piloted aircraft. A senior defense official said the balloon wasn’t shot down over concerns about the damage on the ground that could cause. China stated on Friday it is a "civilian airship" used mainly for meteorological research and regretted it blew off course.
Video Transcript
JOHN MARTIN: OK, that's the Moon. It's a little fuzzy out here and it's a kind of a cruddy phone but it's slightly overcast. But what the heck is that? That's not the Sun. And according to my little planet guide, it's not a planet. What the heck is that? Any help would be appreciated.
LELAND WELLS: OK, that thing is not the Moon. The Moon is right there. This thing is so weird.
CHASE DOAK: I'm shooting at it with about a 500 millimeter lens with a two-time teleconverter on it. So this is at about 1,000 millimeters right now. And for those of you who think this might just be the Moon, it is not the Moon. The Moon is off to my right. I can see it. This is significantly smaller than the Moon.
