"Metapod" UFO. Top voted post of the month on r/UFOs, maybe top of all time

[Z.W. Wolf]

Doesn't act the way you might think


Plastic bags in the sky not even filled with helium


Another plastic bag


Falling leaves


Cherry blossoms. I suggest setting the playback speed to 0.25.

blowing trash

 

[JMartJr]

For those who find the balloon theory preferable to the thing-on-a-string theory, or for "string theory" proponents willing to prove themselves wrong in the interests of truth, explaining what would cause the appearance of what looks like a string in several frames would be helpful. "String" is:
Only visible above the object, not below.
Only visible when zoomed in sufficiently that a string might become visible.
Similar artifacts never appear elsewhere in the video. (If they do and I'm missing them, anybody feel free to point them out.)

If there is a string extending above it, it might still be a balloon inflated with regular air. If the apparant string can be shown to be something else (presumably some sort if video artifact) that should help clarify what we're looking at...

 

[deirdre]

First, why would an object on a string rotate?

worms rotate on fishing hooks sometimes depending on how you move the pole. i assume it has to do with where the weight is off balance.

 

[JMartJr]

@Giddierone posted elsewhere about a company/organization called Aerocene. I think one of their balloons is worth posting here in case interest in this case picks up again. While obviously not the object in question, it is at least a good example of balloons made with opaque and transparent sections.


Source:https://aerocene.org/newspaper-mccormack/

 

[Max Phalange]

@Giddierone posted elsewhere about a company/organization called Aerocene. I think one of their balloons is worth posting here in case interest in this case picks up again. While obviously not the object in question, it is at least a good example of balloons made with opaque and transparent sections.


Source:https://aerocene.org/newspaper-mccormack/

If the video is footage of a real, physical object, then we need some way to explain why it jitters around the frame when the video is stabilized on the clouds.

 

[Leifer]

Custom designed balloons are becoming more common.
It kinda looks like a clear heart balloon, painted to simulate a "broken heart".



Or, it's my 90yo father's hearing aid.
He's always losing one.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

If the video is footage of a real, physical object, then we need some way to explain why it jitters around the frame when the video is stabilized on the clouds.

Not a problem, because it simply moves toward the lower left corner of the frame. Consistent with a balloon moving in air currents.

 

[JMartJr]

Not a problem, because it simply moves toward the lower left corner of the frame. Consistent with a balloon moving in air currents.

Also with an object dangling on a string from a long "fishing pole."

 

[Max Phalange]

Not a problem, because it simply moves toward the lower left corner of the frame. Consistent with a balloon moving in air currents.

Yet it's stationary before and after the zoom?



And it jitters around only during the zoom, in a way that's inconsistent with physical motion, but completely consistent with inaccurate motion tracking during compositing?