Identification of Balloon Deflates UFO Theorists

A brilliant, starlike light at dusk Tuesday prompted calls to the Griffith Observatory and radio stations from people wondering whether an unidentified flying object was making a pass over the South Bay.

The object turned out to be a rarely seen high-altitude research balloon.

Dr. Edwin Krupp, director of the observatory in the Hollywood Hills, was working late when he looked out his office window to see what the callers were talking about.

“I did see that there was a very bright object,” he said Wednesday. “It looked more like a bright planet than a star. It was at a very high angle of elevation, about two-thirds of the way up in the sky.”

Sun’s Rays Reflected

Krupp, who said he had never seen a high-altitude balloon in his 15 years at the observatory, said he nevertheless thought immediately that it might be a balloon “because that is the sort of object that is motionless or almost motionless and can catch the rays of the low sun.”

The balloons are typically 10 stories high, which provides an ample reflecting surface, he said. “That is why they glow so brilliantly. They are so large. They are frequently mistaken for UFOs.”

Krupp went up to the observatory’s 12-inch Zeiss telescope and took a closer look.

“It looked like a typical high-altitude balloon. It might have been partially deflated on one side. It was evident upon looking through the telescope that it had a teardrop shape. You could see the sunlight. It was just possible to see a small speck that was most likely an instrument package. There were no visible markings on the balloon.”

Identity a Mystery

Krupp said the balloon disappeared from view about 8 p.m. when the sun, which had set at 7:28 p.m., slipped so far beneath the horizon that its rays no longer hit the balloon.

The identity of the balloon remained a mystery Wednesday. Spokesmen for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Weather Service said they were unaware of it.

High-altitude research balloons are used to measure conditions in the upper atmosphere, including temperature and wind, and phenomena like cosmic rays and solar radiation.

KNX radio reporter Diane Thompson reported on the object while it was still visible after the station received several calls from Redondo Beach, Carson, Compton and Torrance. She said jokingly that she was a bit disappointed when she learned that it was just a balloon.

Referring to the supposed dawning of a New Age recently, she said: “I kept thinking of the harmonic convergence.”