December 16, 2024
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Why filming New Jersey’s “Mystery Drones” is a bad idea
Reports of strange drones in the skies over New Jersey and other parts of the northeastern US have prompted calls to shoot down the unidentified objects. But that is a very bad idea
A small drone is shown against a full moon.
Flyby Photography/Alamy Stock Photo
As reports of mysterious drones flying over the northeastern US continue to mount, so does a seemingly common-sense response: “Well, why not try shooting one down?”
Observations, which seem to have begun about a month ago In the skies of northern New Jersey, they have now spread to neighboring states, including New York State, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and the lack of response from local, state and federal authorities has left many public officials and ordinary citizens feeling frustrated and powerless. . In response to this, a chorus of members of parliament has begun to demand a bipartisan one more aggressive measures. President-elect Donald Trump has also weighed in, writing in one Truth Social post last Friday, in the absence of a proper explanation from the government, the next step was to “shoot them!!!”
Dear reader, at the risk of being politically biased or “insider”. conspiracy theories related to dronesit’s our duty to let you know that trying to shoot down one of these unidentified flying objects is a terrible idea. Please don’t do it no If the “drones” are emissaries of some alien supercivilization, shooting them could be interpreted as an act of interstellar warfare.
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Here’s why:
Many of these “drones” are not drones at all
While some number of observations are almost certain real drones that unknown parties are operating for reasons that are not clear, According to the FBIMost of the thousands of drone reports in New Jersey are consistent with eyewitnesses misidentifying the crewed aircraft. “Overlaying the sightings reported to the FBI with the approach patterns for Newark-Liberty, JFK and LaGuardia airports, the density of reported sightings is consistent with the approach patterns of these very busy airports, with flights coming in throughout the night,” FBI officials said. he stated in the White House press conference on Saturday. “This modeling indicates that manned aviation is often confused with manned aircraft or UAS (unmanned aerial systems).”
For an indication of how easy it is for most to make that mistake, look no further than New Jersey Senator Andy Kim, who met with concerned constituents at Round Valley Reservoir last Thursday night to witness the phenomenon firsthand. Kim and his watchers multiple seen noticedmany of them captured on video. Closer examination revealed, however, that the potential drones were mere airplanes, Kim said explained helpfully in some social media posts. Also, the next day former Maryland governor Larry Hogan published about eleven drones flew over his house the night before; apparently they were all then identify as ordinary celestial objects, such as the planet Mars and the bright star Sirius.
Physics is not on your side, and what goes up must come down
Granted, taking a shot at another planet from your backyard seems harmless. Your bullets, slugs or pellets will not achieve escape velocity, let alone be able to navigate interplanetary space to reach distant targets. But in fact, since they cannot break the Earth’s insidious bonds, all ballistic projectiles fired upwards will fall to the surface, where they can easily take effect. very real and potentially fatal damage.
Shooting at an actual object flying through the Earth’s atmosphere is a dangerous proposition, of course, especially in this case, as so many reports clearly identify manned aircraft flying relatively low and slow after takeoff or during landing approaches at airports. . Generally speaking, while such situations are more favorable for conventional firearms to hit their mark, the chances of a bull are still low, but would you want to be responsible for a rifle bullet hitting, say, a commercial airliner about to land? Newark?
Especially if you’re a physics major, you might consider trying to fire something much faster and seemingly less damaging at a drone, like a laser beam. But while most lasers won’t punch holes in a fuselage, they can disorient aircrews as well as sensors on unmanned vehicles, creating dangerous situations. (And unfortunately, drone reports seem to abound it has already made an impact (This type of laser-based “fascinator” for planes flying over New Jersey, supposedly aimed at people on the ground with laser pointers.) Outside of lasers, other electromagnetic effects, e.g. radio wave burstsit can also disrupt aircraft navigation systems and is commonly used in military-grade drone jamming technology. But even these can have dangerous results.
Either through bullets or photons, in the worst case, this external impact can send an aircraft (whether it’s a plane full of passengers or some sort of clandestine drone) into an uncontrolled descent. This would turn what was otherwise probably a safe but scary object in the sky into a real threat: effectively a fuel-filled (or battery-filled) missile falling to the ground, colliding with other aircraft, or sparking off. fire where it lands.
The law is not on your side either
Because of these very real risks, it is criminal offense In the US, private citizens can obstruct, damage or destroy any flying aircraft, even if they are unidentified and moving over private property. And firing a gun into the air it is usually illegalit is also considered a “reckless discharge of a firearm”.
So please don’t try to shoot down drones—or at least leave such tasks to the authorities. And while you’re at it, consider learning more about the wonders of the night sky, natural or man-made. You’ll find that most of them are rather cute and not at all threatening.
