Unidentified Flying Object Off North Slope Probably Not A NOAA Weather Balloon

It's A Bird, It's A Plane... It's A UFO 

JBER Jet Shoots Down A New UFO Over North Alaska Waters 

Weather Balloon. (Photo, National Weather Service) 

 A Weather Balloon?   

When the U.S. government shot down a "car-sized" "unidentified object" 40,000 feet over Alaska on Friday, February 10th,  they didn't say exactly what the object was. They also said, "We don't know who owns this object" or where it began its flight. 

The UFO was detected on Thursday by ground radar, and F-35 planes went out to see what was up. It was flying at 40,000 feet. The next day, the military shot it down over sea ice near the Slope with a Sidewinder missile from an F-22 fighter jet. 

On Friday, the government was reticent to say what the object was. But they did say it wasn't a plane, and it was unmanned. 

When maps began to emerge on the Internet showing that the object had gone down near Prudhoe Bay, the Country Journal called NOAA – the National Weather Service. Weather balloons are released by NOAA on a daily basis all over America, according to the web site "High Altitude Science":

There is a weather station in Barrow that takes readings using balloons. A Barrow resident told the Journal on Friday that the station there is automated, and doesn't have an actual person releasing the balloons. 

A worker at the National Weather Service did not believe it was possible that the object that was shot down was a weather balloon. 

They told the Journal Friday afternoon: 

"I saw this map posted on Twitter — and it appeared to show the object was not near where we launch weather balloons. 

"Actually our system has been broken for much of the last six days. We did get one off yesterday afternoon. We had technicians on site. 

"There wasn’t one launched this morning, it looks like. Based on Twitter it looks like it was closer to Prudhoe Bay and we don’t launch balloons there. 

"Our balloons don’t hover. 

"They go up year round, 25,000 meters above the earth, and then they pop and come back down.  Strong winds can take them downstream aways. 

"That would not be a weather balloon flying down in that direction. From what I read on Twitter the thing they shot down is the size of a small car. The payload on our weather balloons is about the size of a can of coke, not even weighing a pound.  It was launched 209 miles from  Prudhoe. They stay within 30 and 40 miles. It would be virtually impossible for them to be down in that area. I’m sure the military knows all about weather balloons."