Well, two were over remote parts of Alaska. And this one just happened like an hour ago, so maybe pics will come out from people on the ground. In any case, the best pics from the first one over Montana were shot with telephoto lenses, so it’s not like anybody with a phone can snap a close up shot
It’s amazing what you can learn about capabilities from a picture. Apparently German scientists during ww2 used the diameter of the Hiroshima explosion from the newspapers to calculate the mass of uranium involved.
You can’t tell the mass of the uranium from the size of the explosion unless you already know exact details of the bomb design (in which case you would already know the mass of the uranium).
The resolution is secret - and that matters a lot.
Why do citizens need to know detailed specs of IR optics systems installed on fighter jets? I can come up with reasons why this information should be kept out of adversaries hands: and handing this info out to citizens makes the latter impossible
Does it? and even if it does do they need to release the full resolution... you seem to be creating strawmen just to justify the government doing thing in secret, seems like an odd position.
And quit with the "adversaries" scare mongering, it will get you no where with me other then enteral cringe and eye rolling.
This "but the other baddies might do something" has been the straw man to justify all manner of immoral actions by the US government over the decades that I have no sympathy for that argument at all
>>Why do citizens need to know detailed specs of IR optics systems installed on fighter jets?
because we paid for it, because we own it, because we can not accurately hold elected government to account for their actions if we do not know what they actions really are. We have no idea what they are shooting down. Maybe it some private plane of of political enemy, maybe is a Alien Drone, maybe is some weather balloon, maybe is a Chinese Spy Drone......
We only have their word... and their word means nothing to me
This is the same reason all cops should be required to wear body cams and make the video public
> This is the same reason all cops should be required to wear body cams and make the video public
At the same time, we[1] don't demand that detectives publish notes from ongoing investigations, yet we pay for that too. Not acknowledging the reality of adversarial circumstances is shortsighted.
1. Perhaps I'm being presumptuous and you think investigations should be fully transparent in realtime.
Run for election to propose this. Many people disagree with absolute real time openness because it puts one at a disadvantage when adversaries are not.
To explain to the rest of the class - right now Huron is a wind-whipped, cold, miserable place to be. It’s not surprising Johnny Fisherman isn’t out these days.
Is there a chance that this is a low-effort and low-risk way for China/whoever to further stir up drama in the US? "Where's the proof?" "They're making this up. I haven't seen a photo of the balloon..."
They're probably being targeted before getting in range of media cameras, and are likely classified until declassified. I would doubt if we see another one over populated areas anytime soon. I would also bet these start getting shot down as they enter the ADIZ.
Information is being selectively withheld to manipulate public opinion, and legacy media outlets are cooperating because that’s what they exist to do - amplify on demand.
While the government will classify their information thinking the media has it but isn't posting it is really just dumb. If any member of the public had it, it would have spread across Twitter/tictok like wildfire.
