Is GIMBAL a rotating object or rotating glare?
Three answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.
Where it stands
Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, one is answered.
Why it matters
GIMBAL is the most argued of the three videos. One side holds that the rotating shape is infrared glare that turns with the targeting pod's gimbal[1]; the other that the flight path fits an object stopping and reversing at the range the crew reported[2]. The answer decides whether the video is evidence of anything.
Answers 3
History
- West puts forward: the shape is glare from a hot source, probably a distant jet's engines, that rotates when the pod rolls…
- West: bumps precede each rotation and the shape stays fixed during the aircraft's banks.For: The shape is glare from a hot source, probably a distant jet's engines, that rotates when the pod rolls…
- Peings & von Rennenkampff puts forward: a real object at 6 to 8 nautical miles that decelerates and reverses, as the aircrew reported from radar.
- Peings & von Rennenkampff: the crew's radar account exists only in interviews; no radar data has been released.Against: A real object at 6 to 8 nautical miles that decelerates and reverses, as the aircrew reported from radar.
- Peings & von Rennenkampff: at the reported range the best-fit path decelerates and reverses, matching the crew's description.For: A real object at 6 to 8 nautical miles that decelerates and reverses, as the aircrew reported from radar.
- West: a refined glare model requires an extra roll mechanism not demonstrated in the footage, and the initial…Against: The shape is glare from a hot source, probably a distant jet's engines, that rotates when the pod rolls…
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