ASA Report ID: CIV-2023-261 - weird object

[flarkey]

This was just posted by Americans for Safe Aerospace:

https://www.safeaerospace.org/reports/civ-2023-261

A family hiking Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park during the solar eclipse observed a reflective, silver object shaped like a capital "I" or a sideways "H" moving slowly and erratically in the sky. It remained visible for about 45 minutes. In the final minutes, it repeatedly vanished and reappeared before disappearing completely. The witness noted its proximity to the nearby U.S. military base.

Location: Ryan Mountain, Joshua Tree National Park CA USA (Google Maps)
Duration: 45 Minutes
Number of Objects: 1
Number of Observers 4
Witness Background: Family of 4, hiking through Joshua Tree National Park.

Event Narrative
While hiking Ryan Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park during the solar eclipse, a family spotted a shiny, silver object in the sky that reflected sunlight and resembled a capital "I or sideways H" The object moved in erratic, figure eight patterns and seemed to defy normal flight behavior. Over the course of about 45 minutes, it repeatedly disappeared and reappeared before vanishing entirely. This happened nearly 5 times. The object was described to be roughly the size of a car or a small plane. The witness emphasized that it did not resemble any known aircraft and noted its proximity to the nearby Marine base at Twentynine Palms.

Images of the object -

Any ideas? looks like a drone or some kind of kite maybe? (@JMartJr ?) I know rotor kites and Magnus effect kites can look similar to this.



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhXVmfNLgtc&list=PL0g67Aiee-gujkE-OjRXWL5nLqzhVhtwh&index=4



Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKG7jKjetfI&t=81s


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJtSuEo5HDQ

 

[Ravi]

Could well be, as in the text it is mentioned "figure eight patterns"..

 

[MonkeeSage]

Some kind of box kite maybe?

 

[JMartJr]

It has the look of some cellular (box)kite. It is not commercially available design that I know, but it could be a home-made. It looks similar to the ones @MonkeeSage posted, but with a central panel like a Sauls Barrage Kite, picture below with the inventor Harry Sauls.

The flight characteristics are odd for a big cellular kite, though, they are normally very stable fliers. Though in the mountains the wind might be turbulent, or it might be a test flight with the pilot trying to get the tow point or bridle adjusted, which would be consistent with it disappearing and reappearing (as the pilot pulled it down, made an adjustment, and put it back up.)

I've never flown rotor kites with multiple rotors Like the model flying machine in the second video of the opening post

As a powered machine it looks very stable, but single rotor kites of the type I have flown are very lively fliers, their flight would more likely to be something with lots of swoops and figure eights and such. But if it were a shiny spinning rotor on a kite, it would be rapidly flashing or fluttering like this:

Source: https://youtu.be/4rlvMZ66-WQ?t=88


(The rotors in the motorized version are spinning faster than those on a kite would. EDIT TO ADD: Of course, the video I posted shows a rotor kite flying steadily without swooping around much... they are capable of steady flying, ut they can also move around in the sky quite a bit.)

On the off chance it's somebody I know flying, I'll ask around, see if anybody had a barrage kite or similar flying at the right time and place.

 

[deirdre]

or an H balloon

Article:

Joshua Tree National Park's annual dark sky festival (October 13–14) will also overlap with the eclipse.

Source: https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-national-parks-with-the-best-view-of-octobers-ring-of-fire-eclipse

Article:

Night Sky Festival 2023
This annual event is a daylong celebration of the night skies of Joshua Tree National Park that serves as a fundraiser for Sky's the Limit Observatory & Nature Center and Joshua Tree Residential Education Experience. A mixture of free and fee-based reservation-required events is offered. View this website page for all the details and to make reservations. Reserve early as events often sell out.
WHEN
October 14, 2023 at 8:30am - 6pm
WHERE
Various Venues near Twentynine Palms

Source: https://www.mbconservation.org/night_sky_festival_2023

 

[MyMatesBrainwashed]

Not sure it's making the aerospace unsafe.

 

[Mendel]

Barrage Kite,

Not sure it's making the aerospace unsafe.

the purpose of a barrage kite is to make the airspace unsafe
the wire that anchors it is the danger

 

[JMartJr]

the purpose of a barrage kite is to make the airspace unsafe
the wire that anchors it is the danger

Originally, yes, absolutely correct. But hobbyists who make historic replicas generally omit that bit! And the general design is sometimes used for a not-historically-accurate hobbyist kite... this one is a Hargrave box kite, visually similar but without the center panel...

 

[Alytha]

Can we be certain here that this is a large object far away, rather than a small object that's closer?
Scale against a blank sky is difficult.
The first thing that came to my mind was a diabolo.

 

[Ravi]

Can we be certain here that this is a large object far away, rather than a small object that's closer?
Scale against a blank sky is difficult.
The first thing that came to my mind was a diabolo.

Not only difficult, but impossible.

 

[JMartJr]

Ignoring the witness description of how it moved about, and just looking at the pictures as evidence, and especially taking into account the third one where the object is brightly reflecting sunlight, I have a hard time not seeing this:

I suppose turbulence might make a balloon dance about, and it might be stuck in a vortex and so hanging around for a bit -- but the 45 minute estimate would have to be off...