Mysterious flying objects shot down over US, Canada

Three unidentified flying objects that were recently shot down over North America are being investigated by the United States and Canada. Military radars have been modified in an effort to detect more invasions.

Every day, balloons are released into the sky to track everything from the weather to certain space events. The most recent flying objects shot down by the US over northern Alaska, the central Yukon region of Canada, and Lake Huron in Michigan remain a mystery, according to the Guardian.

US authorities have no idea what the objects were. What is certain, however, is that the US and Canadian armies are extremely alert about identifying some objects that might previously have been permitted to pass following the recent breach by a Chinese spy balloon, the New York Times reported. 

CNN analyzed the descriptions of these most recent objects. The ones intercepted over Alaska and northern Canada resembled balloons, and they were flying at a height of about 40,000 feet. They also had small cylindrical metal parts connected to them.

The object that came down over Lake Huron was distinct, having an octagonal form with strings hanging from it and moving at 20,000 feet over Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It was initially discovered a day earlier above Montana. Because the objects could endanger civilian aircraft at high levels, the military opted to shoot them down.

American authorities have not yet ruled out the possibility that there may be further objects. The objects may be from China or another foreign country, according to some officials, and they could be used to test how well they can be detected following the Chinese surveillance balloon, according to the New York Times. 

The newspaper added that the Chinese surveillance balloon that floated across the country did not endanger aircraft since it was far higher in the air, at 60,000 feet. Yet, according to Pentagon sources, any flying object may have struck civilians on the ground.

The Pentagon and intelligence agencies have recently increased their investigation into strange incidents near military posts at the request of lawmakers. Studies on what the intelligence community refers to as unidentified aircraft phenomena have documented earlier undetected attempts to conduct surveillance on American military drills. Balloons have been involved in a lot of those mysterious events, and some of them are now thought to be attempts by China or other countries to conduct surveillance using both balloons and surveillance drones.

It is worth mentioning that the US National Weather Service reported that 1,800 weather balloons are launched every day throughout the world, 92 of which are in the US alone. Each one is equipped with a device that can measure relative humidity, temperature, and pressure. Just 20% of the tens of thousands of these instruments that are launched each year are ever found.

Thousands of balloons are also launched into space by private companies. To bring internet access to rural and distant places, Google sent hundreds of self-navigating balloons the size of tennis courts into the sky up until 2021, according to the Guardian.