Here’s a very interesting and well-made analysis of the famous video. The interactive graph is great.
This is not conclusive though.
I’d say the object looks metallic, or at least very opaque, as conventional latex balloons let light through and don’t show dark shadows as in the video and still image. The object also appears very spherical. Mylar balloons are generally not spherical. Basic mylar balloons look like “flattened” spheres. So in the video, it would have be a round mylar balloon floating “on its side” – I guess it’s plausible but I don’t know, I’m not convinced. There are other types of metallic party balloons, but they’re much rarer, perhaps even rarer in the middle of nowhere in Middle East? I don’t know. So for me, the case remains open.
[https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/24/isnt-that-a-balloon-deflating-a-dod-ufo-video/](https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2023/10/24/isnt-that-a-balloon-deflating-a-dod-ufo-video/)
by DontDoThiz
3 Comments
> But they’re much rarer, perhaps even rarer in the middle of nowhere in Middle East?
Not at all, they are specifically used in the Middle East especially over Syria to distract military jets. In Isreal/Gaza to deliver bombs, etc.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/syrian-rebels-use-childrens-party-9199612
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/gaza-palestinian-balloon-bombs-israel/2020/03/08/d2069346-54d5-11ea-80ce-37a8d4266c09_story.html
We know of hobby balloons even from the US going over this region because that’s where the winds take them when the travel across the globe.
Chinese spy balloons:
https://breakingdefense.com/2023/02/chinese-balloons-have-been-transiting-middle-east-top-general-says/
In sum, there are lots of reasons both accidental and intentional why there might be balloons in the air over the Middle East.
Also keep in mind the video in the article is not the Mosul orb.
The flight pattern is honestly the more important part of the study, as in there is no indication that it’s anything other then a balloon in the wind and the parallax from the drone giving the impression of it’s “flight”.
So indeed you can’t really fault them from considering that in this case “it’s most probably a balloon” and that a little kid was sad that day 🙁
Ive never seen a balloon move that fast in a somewhat straight line with no other real evidence of strong winds