Anchorage, Alaska — November 4, 2026 — Octopus Kite?

[jon_eir]

The video was posted to r/InterdimensionalNHI by u/FrankMurphys, under the title:
Video taken in Alaska of a strange jellyfish object. (Kite?)

The Reddit uploader also linked to what they identified as the original Facebook video.

Reddit user, u/AdIllustrious705, commented:

I think I own one of those. Octopus kite. Also looks pretty windy out there

Original Reddit comment
The commenter included a video of an octopus-style kite, demonstrating that commercially available kites can produce a similar silhouette with numerous trailing tentacles.

Reddit user u/ImaRaginCajun initially argued that the object could not be a kite, citing the apparent wind conditions, altitude and surrounding trees.
The user subsequently edited their comment to state:

EDIT : I was wrong. This actually IS a kite, flying in the park on Rabbit Creek Rd. I asked a kiter friend that lives there.

Original Reddit comment

I believe the reference to Rabbit Creek Road is a location error.
My separate geolocation investigation identifies the Alaska Geological Materials Center in the footage. Based on the building's position and the camera's field of view, i think the actually location is 61°12'58.17"N 149°48'58.04"W,the Planet Fitness, 3101 Penland Pkwy, Anchorage, AK 99508. I also think that Russian Jack Fields appears a substantially more plausible kite-launch location.

using the building signage, car park lights and the distinctive leaning post on the right above I was able to create an approx. FOV and location

I think that location matches well with the overall video and above still regarding the mountain skyline

I had to play around with the dates and exact location due to cloud cover mainly.
The location and observer FOV/ heading aligns well with Russian Jack Springs Park.

The Alaskiters local kite-flying group's interactive map explicitly identifies Russian Jack Fields as a kite-flying location, with the qualification that the fields are usable when no games are being played.

An interesting comparison comes from a July 2021 incident in Colorado Springs, Colorado, investigated by local television station KKTV 11 News.
The station originally reported receiving footage from a viewer showing:

a mysterious object appearing to float over Colorado Springs

Following the broadcast, the station published an update:

the owner of the kite reached out to us! Johnathan explained it is an "octopus" kite

According to the report, Johnathan identified the object as an approximately eight-metre-long octopus kite that he had acquired at a trade show and enjoyed flying recreationally.
This provides a documented example of an unusual, tentacled object initially attracting public attention before being identified through direct contact with its owner. It offers a useful comparison because its reasonable close (3000miles), the footage matches in regrading the tentacles and the kite explanation was confirmed by the person responsible for the object.

Source: KKTV 11 News, Tony Keith, July 26, 2021, updated July 28, 2021.

What is it!? Mysterious object caught on video above Colorado Springs

 

[JMartJr]

@jon_eir
Dang, I don't think you left me much to do but to admire your thorough and complete debunk!

I can add a little, maybe...

I looked at the Alaskiters FB page, there do appear to be a couple of tentacled kites in the group -- octopuses and jellyfish:

Photos selected or cropped to exclude recognizable images of individuals

These were all mentioned as being flown in Alaska, I am not sure if they belong to somebody in the group or possibly a guest flier at one of their events. There are other pics that appear to have been taken when members of the group were at festivals in other states, and may be of kites that were never in Alaska -- since I can't yet verify those have flown in Alaska, I've excluded them.

I've reached out and asked them if they can identify the specific kite, the video is probably not sufficient but they may know who flies one there.

How quickly the tentacles move suggest it is a smaller kite -- big by most folks standards but what we in the hobby would be considered a mini or midi. (6 or 14 meters for mini /midi kites in the line of original inflatable octos out of NZ, a Maxi would be 25 meters. An "OLO" or "Over Large Octopus" is huge at 36 meters and I doubt anybody would fly one at that park. there would be more variation in Chinese kites. The kites pictured above are Chinese versions, but the general range of sizes is roughly universal.) The video quality is so poor that this may be illusory, it may be bigger than it looks to me, but if I had to bet I'd bet on the smaller side.

That's what I got for now, if anybody up in the frozen tundra provides infirmation that they don't mind being shared, I'll circle back...

 

[jon_eir]

Alaskiters FB page

loved this-great knowledge and great idea to ask the kite group members. I don't have a Facebook account. Did you see any mention of the the park being used for "snow kiting" or some activity like that?

not directly related, but a personal favorite I uncovered along the way. I think below might be a useful for future comparisons as the pilots (unsure the of correct term) can be seen also

The video quality is so poor that this may be illusory, it may be bigger than it looks to me, but if I had to bet I'd bet on the smaller side.

Just from trying the line up the google earth images to fit the footage and some assumptions, i would think this was taken on a phone that was zoomed very much in and cause some digital artifacting. This may lead some to suggest smoke or exhaust like features (this was suggest to me privately)

Edit: typo and context

 

[JMartJr]

not directly related, but a personal favorite I uncovered along the way. I think below might be a useful for future comparisons as the pilots (unsure the of correct term) can be seen also

Pilot us acceptable, flier or flyer or kiter are also common.

I was confused at first reading your post, because "Pilot' also refers to a smaller, more stable kite flown over a show kite, the larger kite us clipped to the pilot kite's line to steady it or provide extra lift. Just to make you aware there is also that usage of the term. Example of pilot kites being used:

The blue pilot is over the orange maxi octo, the orange pilot is helping the whales, the yellow/red/orange octo is flying without one.

Worth being aware of -- large show kites often (but not always) have a pilot kite of some sort over them. It may be significantly above the show kite, the ones in the pic above are from ME flying, and I fly my pilots much lower than some. But higher has advantages, as one of the things it does for you is to get up into steadier wind to help the big kite ride out brief wind lulls. The absence of a pilot kite does not prove the object under discussion is not a kite (the kite in this thread's topic video does not seem to have one, unless it is WAY the Heck up there, but then octos are decent fliers without them) but if you look for ia pilot over a suspected large kite and spot one it's strong evidence supporting a given object being a kite.

 

[JMartJr]

Just from trying the line up the google earth images to fit the footage and some assumptions, i would think this was taken on a phone that was zoomed very much in and cause some digital artifacting. This may lead some to suggest smoke or exhaust like features (this was suggest to me privately)

Maybe, but I don't see anything that is not obviously the tentacles of a kite of the sort that has tentacles. Perhaps if you are into thinking in those terms you'd maybe see them as wavering smoke/exhaust. And I probably have more experience looking at octopus kites than many folks, so might be less likely to make that mistake!

 

[jon_eir]

Maybe, but I don't see anything that is not obviously the tentacles of a kite of the sort that has tentacles. Perhaps if you are into thinking in those terms you'd maybe see them as wavering smoke/exhaust. And I probably have more experience looking at octopus kites than many folks, so might be less likely to make that mistake!

yes you might have hit the nail on the there, it was more a passing comment that was made on the video in a discord channel but I saw similar made on reddit and didnt feel the need to find a one.

On the "pilots" thing, yes, I was referring to the 2 people on the ground controlling the kite personally I will be using "kiter" going forward, its seems like a great term.

Thanks for the info on kites in general and the pilot kite-personally I dont think Im actually that great just looking at videos and figuring out what it from that alone, but knowing what a pilot kite is now that should be readily obvious and like you said may indicate size to some extend.

just like disclosure(jk) isn't debunking about the fun and friends we made along the way? I learned a little something this time too

 

[jon_eir]

rage

Source: https://x.com/DailyMail/status/2120241371202093275

it links to this article
www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-16278729/ufo-hovers-alaska-military-base.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline

The original Facebook poster appears to be is listed as the photographer

Sara Jane Osborn told the Daily Mail she was photographing a rainbow in Anchorage when a dark object emerged above distant trees near what she believed was Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).

none of any of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson are likely within the FOV when the video was taken with the closest being approx. 4km away and at a 60 heading

they claim figuring out what is would involve divine intervention or government clearance? they rule a kite out due to their past experiences and an apparent lack of wind

She added that 'only God and the government' would know what it was, describing an eerie sight that left her and her husband, Pete, looking for answers

Osborn contrasted its 'black and silver' appearance with the 'bright colors' of kites she was used to seeing.

She described the trees moving, noting there was a breeze. 'But it wasn't a big enough breeze for a kite,' she said. 'It was very clearly not a kite in its movements.

they ruled out a "nearby "park as they believe it was too small to fly a kite in and didn't see anyone packing a kite away after what they claimed was a 3min flight

'Because if there was a kite there, why would you only fly it for, like, three minutes?' Osborn asked.

The couple went toward a nearby park, hoping to find someone packing away a kite or another clue that might explain the sighting.

'And there was nobody taking down a kite,' Osborn said. 'People would have been there. The kite would have been there.'

 

[JMartJr]

The couple went toward a nearby park, hoping to find someone packing away a kite or another clue that might explain the sighting.

'And there was nobody taking down a kite,' Osborn said. 'People would have been there. The kite would have been there.'

Not necessarily. If it was a test flight after making repairs, or if they popped it up and found there was indeed insufficient wind, or if they popped it up and decided the space was indeed too tight, or for other reasons, they may have popped it up, pulled it down, and left.

Edit to add;
How likely is that? Don't know, but I do know that the kites where somrbodybis mystified, then walks over to 5he park and meets the kites are not the ones expected to be reported as UFOs...

 

[Mick West]

Looks like I need to add both rainbows and kites to Sitrec

 

[Mick West]

Rainbows. (I already had broken specters, this is similar)

 

[Mick West]

Work in progress

 

[Mick West]

AI-assisted, of course. It's using the actual wind, which explains why it looks short.

 

[jon_eir]

Looks like I need to add both rainbows and kites to Sitrec

I just realized that sitrec takes .glb i might look at creating some myself and testing, maybe starting a thread on the sitrec forum with links to models that users are import themselves.

also post #11 is a still now not a video file fyi

 

[Mick West]

https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/?custom=1/Anchorage Kite/20261111_115123_737ff7aa042467432be2b3248b9003a3.js

Article:

Version 2.191.0 (2026-11-10)

New Features

• Add Kite (ground right-click menu → Add Kite, below Add Balloon): adds a kite on a flying line that is held at the clicked point. The wind puts the kite downwind of that point, at the height where its lift, its drag, its weight and the pull of the line are in balance. The kite turns its nose into the wind, and its tails move with the wind. Use it to test if a kite can be at the position of an object in a video. The kite's folder in Contents has Anchor Altitude (m MSL) (the ground at the clicked point), Line Length (m) (default 100), Line Weight (g/m) (default 0.5), Line Diameter (mm) (default 1), Wind Variability (%) (default 20) and Random Seed (default 1). Two read-only rows, Kite Position and Wind and Pull, show the height of the kite, its distance downwind, the wind speed and the pull of the line at the current frame. A new kite is a small diamond kite. To change its type, use Browse custom objects… in the kite's folder in Objects. The kite uses the wind of the sitch (Physics → Wind). When the wind is too light, the kite is on the ground, and Kite Position shows On the ground. You can select the kite as the camera track or the target track, and it is saved with the sitch.
• Kites in the Custom Object Designer (Sitrec → Extra Tools → Custom Object Designer, or Objects → object → Browse custom objects…): a new object type, Kites, has 15 presets of seven shapes: diamond, delta, rokkaku, sled, box, parafoil and octopus. An octopus kite has eight tentacles that move with the wind. Each kite design has a Flight folder with Mass · kg, Lifting area · m² (0 = from the shape), Lift coefficient and Drag coefficient. Add Kite uses these values. They are estimates for each type of kite, not measurements. The library now has 307 presets.
• Rainbow (Show → Celestial → Atmospheric Optics (Halos) → Rainbow): draws a rainbow in the look view, at the correct angle from the point opposite the Sun. Sitrec finds that point from the date, the time and the camera position of the sitch, so a rainbow in a video can give the time of the video. Show Rainbow (the title checkbox, off by default) turns it on. It does not need Show Halos, and it needs the Sun above the horizon. Secondary Bow (on by default) adds the fainter second bow. Brightness (default 1) sets how bright the rainbow is. Rain Distance (m) (default 3000) sets how far away the rainbow is: nearer terrain and objects hide it. The settings are saved with the sitch.

Source: https://www.metabunk.org/sitrec/docs/WhatsNew.html#:~:text=Version%202.191.0%20(2026%2D11%2D10)

 

[JMartJr]

It's using the actual wind

This is going to be tricky -- prevailing wind from weather reports is not always going to match actual wind "on the spot," especially in mountainous and urban areas.

Even with that caveat in mind, I am trying to think if there is a way to predict the flight angle of a kite given assumed wind conditions. It is tricky, as different kite designs fly at different angles of elevation -- for example PLK manta rays fly at a higher angle than their octopuseseses. And adding a pilot will increase the flight angle. Further, many kites can be adjusted to change the angle of attack (how far from horizontal it sits on the air, see below) which changes the lift/drag ratio, which changes the flight angle. I'm not sure it can be done, but it would be dang useful in cases like this -- given the angular size of the kite in the video, what assumptions about the size of the kite, combined with anon angle of elevation, create a line pointing to a usable flying spot like the park? If the sort of kite it looks like comes in that sort of size, you would then have a bit more information...

Angle of elevation (flight angle) vs. angle of attack, at least as kiters use the terms, airplanists and the like may use terms differently or use different terms, I don't know... The first image shows differing angles of attack, the second different flight angles.

(The different angles of attack in the above image should create different flight angles, the one on the right would have more drag to lift, and so fly at a lower angle given the same wind, the illustrator chose to ignore that.)

First image source: https://www.kite.org/about-kites/how-do-kites-fly/
Second: Me, fast and dirty in Photoshop.

Note that to get to the same height above ground, the low flight angle Octo would need to let out more line, and so be further down wind from the anchor point, than would the higher angle Manta Ray

 

[NorCal Dave]

Apparently, Mr. Jeremy Corbell wants everyone to remember that his jellyfish UFO video is from the military and truly anomalous while this new video is likely a kite:

I saw the posts going around about the new "jellyfish" UAP video. It's already circling in the media. First, it's NOT new. Second… the jellyfish UAP that @GeorgeKnapp66 and I exposed is real military-filmed footage.

For a long time now other "jellyfish" videos are being lumped in with it, whether to muddy the waters on purpose or out of excitement.

They are not the same case. Keep them separate.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10166575593119595&set=a.239074774594

 

[jdog]

....

Sara Jane Osborn told the Daily Mail she was photographing a rainbow in Anchorage when a dark object emerged above distant trees near what she believed was Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).

none of any of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson are likely within the FOV when the video was taken with the closest being approx. 4km away and at a 60 heading
...

As we learned with the VASCO transients, a UAP can be "above" or associated with a ground location as long as it was photographed within the same hemisphere.

 

[Mick West]

Looks like Jeremy used AI for that analysis. Probably told it not to mention the Metabunk thread

 

[JMartJr]

Looks like Jeremy used AI for that analysis. Probably told it not to mention the Metabunk thread

That's kind of a shame. It's not all that often we agree, it ought to be acknowledged, even if it was just a "...even Metabunk got this one right" sort of thing.