First we saw the spy balloon now it’s been learned green laser beams were spotted in Hawaii in January 2023.
At first, experts thought the beams were coming from a NASA spacecraft, but new evidence has pointed to a Chinese satellite instead. According to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), the Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured the laser lights in the cloudy sky over Maunakea.
The initial report of the lasers over Hawaii was on January 30, 2023.
On Jan 28, 2023, HST, Subaru-Asahi Star Camera captured green laser lights in the cloudy sky over Maunakea, Hawai`i. The lights are thought to be from a remote-sensing altimeter satellite ICESAT-2/43613.
Watch the video:https://t.co/xqoJvSa24s#SubaruTelescope pic.twitter.com/5hhIsewuNp— Subaru Telescope Eng (@SubaruTel_Eng) January 31, 2023
While the satellite is supposedly an atmospheric environment monitoring spacecraft, the discovery has caused many to worry that China could be using space-based or high-altitude surveillance equipment to monitor the US and its allies.
On February 6, 2023, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan reported that the laser beams weren’t from US spacecraft but that “Chinese Daqi-1/AEMS satellite” was the culprit.
“According to Dr. Martino, Anthony J., a NASA scientist working on ICESat-2 ATLAS, it is not by their instrument but by others,” a correction note on the YouTube video explains.
“His colleagues, Dr. Alvaro Ivanoff et al., did a simulation of the trajectory of satellites that have a similar instrument and found a most likely candidate as the ACDL instrument by the Chinese Daqi-1/AEMS satellite.
“We really appreciate their efforts in the identification of the light. We are sorry about our confusion related to this event and its potential impact on the ICESat-2 team.”
The Daqi–1 satellite is supposedly an atmospheric environment monitoring spacecraft. However, shortly after the lasers appeared a spy balloon traversed the continental United States.
Don’t worry, though, Joe says it’s not a big deal (sarcasm).
Biden says the Chinese spy balloon he let traverse the entire country gathering surveillance was “not a major [security] breach.” pic.twitter.com/dnMFciOJRB
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 10, 2023
During the White House Press Conference on February 10, 2023 the White House reported that the military shot down another spy balloon.
BREAKING: White House says U.S. military shot down an ‘object’ flying at 40,000 feet in U.S. territorial waters over Alaska in the last hour
— Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) February 10, 2023
Biden spokesman John Kirby confirms “the Department of Defense was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaskan airspace in the last 24 hours.” pic.twitter.com/RADF33myvT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 10, 2023
