It wasn’t a bird or a plane, but a balloon.
Residents in Denver reported sightings of a strange-looking balloon flying over the Mile High City, calling into KDVR, a local news channel, to report the mysterious sighting on Friday morning.
The station was able to locate the whitish-clear orb — which actually belongs to the space exploration and technology company World View Enterprises, and was launched in northern Arizona last Saturday to study solar radiation in the stratosphere, according to The Hill.
“This is a more sophisticated system that allows us to fly and navigate in the stratosphere for days, weeks and months at a time,” vice president of marketing and communications at World View, Phil Wocken, told the outlet.
The balloon, which is coasting at 73,000 feet, over 30,000 feet above the commercial airspace, is “carrying a payload for NASA,” Wocken added.
It is one of the company’s Stratollite balloons, which is similar to a weather balloon, however it does not pop when flying at high altitudes.
The episode had some remembering the Chinese spy balloons spotted that drifted across the US in February 2023 collecting intelligence from American military sites, while others feared it was a vehicle being used by aliens.
In fact, some are not buying the explanation, and are convinced it was an alien sighting.
“The balloon over the north side of the Denver area is not – repeat not – aliens,” Denver meteorologist Chris Bianchi quipped on X.
“Riiiiiggghhhtt,” replied Colorado podcaster Scott DeHuff.
“That’s what they want us to think,” wrote Jessica.
“Definitely an alien,” added Jaylen Archuleta.
