Mar 07, 2023 23:00:00

'Spy Balloon Simulator' that shows the world map on what route to go around the earth when a spy balloon floats

On February 4, 2023, the United States military

shot down a mysterious balloon flying from China with a missile , which became a big topic worldwide. Hearing that the balloon flew from China to the United States, some people must have wondered, 'What route did the balloon fly?' A new website that simulates what kind of route a balloon floated at a specific point goes around the earth ' Spy Balloon Simulator 'Was released by Mr. Kevin (DeepFriedPancake) , a student at York University in the United States.

Spy Balloon Simulator - deploy your own balloon!
https://spyballoonsim.hornetsnestguild.com/

The top page of Spy Balloon Simulator looks something like this. It seems that the balloon route is simulated using the global climate monitoring tool ' ERA5 ' of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

To simulate the route of the balloon, first click the balloon icon at the bottom of the screen.

If you click on the desired point on the map as it is, the simulation of the flight route will start automatically. The period during which the flight route can be simulated is from 00:00 on November 1, 2022 to 23:00 on January 30, 2023. By default, the flight route for 20 days after floating the balloon at 00:00 on November 1, 2022. It shows.

The flight route is not displayed at once, it will be read gradually. If you float a balloon near Beijing in China, you can see that it passes through the Tohoku region of Japan, crosses the Pacific Ocean, and then crosses the North American continent.

The balloon just passed Europe and went over Russia.

The second lap was slightly further north than the first, and 20 days later we were in northern Canada.

By operating the slide bar below and buttons such as '[6h', '[1h', '1h]', '6h]', it is possible to see where the balloon will fly at a specific point. In this simulation, the balloon was approaching Japan at 16:00 on November 1, 16 hours after it was launched. The point where the balloon floated and the coordinates of the current position are displayed in the upper left.

It will reach the skies over the United States at 7 o'clock on November 5th.

We will fly over Iceland at 13:00 on November 11th.

It passed north of the Scandinavian Peninsula at 16:00 on November 12th.

If you want to change the time to float the balloon, move the slide bar in advance and specify the date and time OK.

By changing 'Simulation length' at the bottom right of the screen, you can adjust the period for displaying the flight route.

It is also possible to float multiple balloons at the same time. In addition, Mr. Kevin says that 'Spy Balloon Simulator' is a tool created for entertainment only, so it is not accurate enough to be used for actual military research.