Documents / Analysis
This All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) case resolution, dated 20 March 2025, looks at infrared video recorded on April 26, 2013 by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft over Rafael Hernandez Airport near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Using reconstruction and pixel analysis, AARO found with high confidence that the two objects drifted over land at wind speed and never entered the ocean. It concludes with moderate confidence that they were a pair of sky lanterns.
“split”4 pages
UNCLASSIFIED 4 UNCLASSIFIED Figure 2: Stills images of object separation from within the first minute of the video. Figure 3: These stills demonstrate how the changing view angle from the sensor to the objects influenced their perceived behavior as the aircraft gained altitude. They appear to be one object from a low angle and a low magnification, as shown in Image A at 00:05.14. The objects appear distinct from one another from a steeper viewing angle and moderate magnification, as shown in Image B at 00:33.41. Image C, at 02:37.44, shows the objects from a high angle and increased magnification, clearly showing object separation from a more top-down perspective.
Analysis, from the aaro collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 7 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.